William Sawalich had already hinted at taking out Corey Day after their incident in the Chase opener at Darlington, and that threat came to fruition at Gateway last Saturday. NASCAR saw it happen and acknowledged the heated rivalry the two have developed in recent weeks. Yet, no penalty was issued, a decision insider Michael McCarthy, known as Large in the community, isn’t entirely comfortable with.

The sanctioning body defended its decision by calling it “self-policing,” with journalist Steven Taranto revealing the reasoning on X following Gateway. But Large believes NASCAR needs to step in and make it clear that drivers can’t simply get away with anything.

“I think they’re just… It’s a recipe for disaster. Every NASCAR driver that I’ve met seem even headed. But we know we’re never more angry when we are in our cars… NASCAR needs to step in here and be the final say on every single one of these,” McCarthy said on the Rubbin is Racing podcast, while discussing the “self-policing” dilemma the sport finds itself in.

Heated rivalries, cars bumping into each other, and larger-than-life personalities are part of what makes NASCAR great. For instance, the Cup Series has a new rivalry brewing between Carson Hocevar and Brad Keselowski, with the latter promising retribution against the No. 77 driver after being spun at Darlington two weeks ago. NASCAR hasn’t hinted at punishing Keselowski for it, instead leaning into the rivalry by using promotional posters to hype the matchup.

But for McCarthy, the bigger concern is safety. Drivers are already running on adrenaline, and an intention to wreck someone can quickly turn dangerous. NASCAR knows that, too. Earlier this year at Texas, Ryan Preece was docked 25 points and fined $50,000 after saying over the radio that he wanted to take Ty Gibbs out before eventually wrecking the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

At Gateway on Saturday, it was no secret that Day had a target on his back. Justin Allgaier gave Day a push from behind, sending the Hendrick Motorsports protégé alongside Sawalich’s car. They tussled for a while. Sawalich then turned left, sending Day spinning across the track and into the inside wall head-on, bringing his night to an end. However, NASCAR deemed it a “racing incident” given the history between the two drivers.

McCarthy feels consistency is what NASCAR needs when it comes to “self-policing.” If the sanctioning body wants to distance itself from incidents between drivers, it should stop getting involved altogether. Otherwise, it should step in every time. That’s the point he’s ultimately getting at.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud because I love, you know, kind of the smoke, and I love all that sh**, but I just don’t see where it’s safe or reasonable to let, you know, a guy who’s been 500 miles in a car and he’s already on tilt, and then all of a sudden have to make a decision while going at some miles an hour against 38, 30-some-odd people around him,” he said on the same episode of the podcast.

As for the Sawalich-Day incident, NASCAR wants to settle the matter by having the two drivers talk it out in its presence. Ahead of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Bristol, both drivers have been asked to meet in a hauler with Elton and Eric Peterson, along with their respective team directors, in an attempt to resolve the issue.

Day previously said there was no way Sawalich would ever see his point of view. What happens when the two emerge from the hauler, however, remains to be seen. For Day, though, the key will be avoiding any further incidents with Sawalich. According to Denny Hamlin, that is what put him in this situation in the first place.

Hamlin has his own Championship aspirations to worry about heading into the third round of the Chase. But he’s keeping an eye on what’s happening in the O’Reilly Series, and he feels Day was at fault for getting wrecked in Illinois last weekend.

Sawalich drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, just like Hamlin. But that’s not why Hamlin sides with him. In fact, he said on his Actions Detrimental podcast that he has barely spoken to the 19-year-old Minnesota native. He simply feels that Day should not have attacked the teenager on turn one, as he did after getting the nudge from Allgaier.

“What is the 17 thinking? Knowing the guy is mad at you, you run into him into turn one, you then run into him in the middle of turns one and two, and then you can’t get off of him off of turn two because the 7’s right on your bumper,” the 45-year-old said.

With the two drivers now set to meet with NASCAR, the Bristol race could bring the next chapter of this feud.