For most of its starting phase, the United Rentals 300 felt surprisingly tame. Three cautions came and went without much chaos, and the field settled into a steady rhythm that had fans wondering if Daytona’s notorious unpredictability had taken the day off. But that calm shattered on Lap 92, when the race finally delivered the kind of mayhem everyone had been bracing for. What followed sparked one of the most heated radio outbursts of the season, led by a furious Natalie Decker, whose reaction instantly became the storyline of the night.

Natalie Decker erupts on the radio as the Big One triggers chaos

“Whoever that fcking idiot was go to his fcking pit! Why would he fcking do that?! Ruined our fcking race! Sorry everyone…great work,” Natalie Decker fumed over the radio, directing her rage squarely at Sam Mayer moments after being swept into one of the biggest wrecks of the night. The frustration was raw, unfiltered, (and somewhat understandable), because what unfolded at Lap 92 was the kind of Daytona disaster that ends races and ignites tempers.

The chaos began entering Turn 1 when Ryan Sieg, running eighth, was tapped from behind by Jeb Burton, sending him spinning across the nose of the field. What followed was a chain-reaction crash that collected a long list of contenders: Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Natalie Decker, Sam Mayer, Jeremy Clements, and Taylor Gray, among them. The impact between Mayer and Decker at the tail end of the wreck was particularly violent, leaving both cars crippled and the track littered with debris.

It marked the fourth caution of the NASCAR race and the first red flag of the evening as officials halted the field for extensive cleanup. Adding fuel to the fire, Mayer keyed up his own radio moments later: “Got no brakes. Apparently, the 35 [Natalie Decker] doesn’t either.”

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Fans immediately jumped in, many accusing Decker of braking too late under caution, echoing comments made live by broadcasters, who pointed to replays showing Mayer’s No. 41 taking massive damage as the field slowed. For Decker, the moment was especially heartbreaking.

The Daytona NASCAR race weekend marked another step in her comeback after stepping away from full-time competition to welcome her son, Levi, last February. She only recently returned to NASCAR, finishing 22nd in her August Daytona run. The physical and emotional grind of motherhood, she has said, reshaped her entire outlook.

What was meant to be a triumphant return turned into a fiery, frustrating flashpoint. No doubt, it will follow both drivers into the next race weekend.

Both drivers share their side of the story

Natalie Decker later revealed that the impact, while it “probably didn’t look super bad on TV,” was one of the hardest hits she has ever taken. Thankfully, she confirmed she’s okay. Just shaken, disappointed, and hoping to regroup before her next scheduled event at Pocono. For a driver returning to the sport after becoming a mother, the setback was emotionally heavy, especially after showing a ‘steady’ pace earlier in the race.

Sam Mayer also addressed the collision and expressed remorse for how things unfolded. With his car heavily damaged and visibility nearly gone, he explained just how little control he had in the final moments before the impact.

“I hated it because the hood was up, so I didn’t know exactly which direction I was facing, and my steering was gone like I didn’t have a tire at that point, so I couldn’t turn, and I was trying to brake up the hill. I just couldn’t, and I hit the transition. Hate it for her because she was clear of the wreck obviously, so bummer for everybody.”

Both the drivers’ explanations did little to cool social media debates, but they provided valuable context from inside the cockpit. For now, both drivers walk away frustrated but healthy and with Daytona reminding the field once again how quickly fortunes can flip at the World Center of Racing.