35 seconds too much? Kyle Petty doesn’t think so. With just two laps remaining at the Grant Park 165, Cody Ware suffered an exploded left front brake rotor and slammed into the tire barrier going into Turn 6 at an estimated 93 mph. When the incident occurred, Shane van Gisbergen was yet to cross the start-finish line to take the white flag, and there was a significant delay in the caution despite the severity of the incident. Ware was even heard saying, “I need help,” on the team radio after feeling the after-effects of the wreck.

Naturally, questions were raised regarding the delay afterward. Some felt it was a ‘conspiracy’, allowing the race to finish under caution so that SVG could snatch the win. While others, such as Kyle Petty, offered an alternate explanation, coming to NASCAR’s defense despite the lengthy delay.

Kyle Petty takes NASCAR’s side despite controversial calls

Cody Ware’s incident wasn’t the only badly called caution in Chicago. Josh Berry wrecked on Lap 29, and bizarrely, the No. 21 Ford was just left stranded in the middle of the track while NASCAR let the whole field pass by with no caution being flown. Eventually, the Wood Brothers Racing driver was forced to retire early and ended up 34th, but the delay in bringing about the yellow flag raised plenty of eyebrows. Denny Hamlin even said, “That was a late call,” a sentiment that was echoed by many on the track.

But Kyle Petty wasn’t having it. Coming to NASCAR’s defense, the veteran couldn’t help but say, “These cars, and everybody here knows it; You don’t just stop, start it, and go again. You’ve got to cycle it. It’s got to go through the cycle. And I’m betting, if you go back and look at Josh Berry, how long he sat in the middle of the racetrack, compared to how long the #51 sat in the tires, and we’ve seen cars up there in the past who have run into the tires and backed out and continued on their way.”

Petty shared Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s example to make his point. On Lap 63, the No. 47 Chevy spun in Turn 2 but drove behind the wall to get out of harm’s way. Using that incident as an example, Petty said, “NASCAR has to allow the guy time. So, whether it’s 20 seconds or 30 seconds. And these guys are coming off the final turn, and he’s (Cody Ware) all the way over in Turn 6, they can throw the caution in Turn 4 and 5… I’m on NASCAR’s side.” The 65-year-old didn’t want to see the race restart yet again with SVG close to the white, but was that a big gamble for NASCAR to take?

Sure, both Josh Berry and Cody Ware could have driven out of harm’s way, but on a track like the Chicago street course, which is quite narrow, a delay in caution could have had disastrous consequences. There could have been a significant pileup with Josh Berry stranded on the track, while the magnitude of Cody Ware’s wreck meant immediate medical attention was needed. NASCAR can’t afford to ‘miss’ such incidents, even if that means placing officials on corners or more eyes on race control, monitoring the cameras.

Denny Hamlin calls for change after Berry’s late caution

Denny Hamlin had quite an impressive outing at the Chicago Street course. The No. 11 Toyota started rock-bottom after an ‘unapproved’ engine change, making the veteran work for a result at the 2.2-mile track. But the 44-year-old impressed by steadily gaining track positions as the laps ticked on, climbing all the way to seventh in Stage 2 before finishing the race in fourth place, behind Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Shane van Gisbergen. But Hamlin wasn’t too impressed by NASCAR’s caution delays.

Sharing his thoughts on the Josh Berry incident, he said, “I believe I saw [Josh Berry] twice. So I went around him when he hit the inside of (Turn) 7. I was one of the cars that went around him. And then, I saw him in a different spot, sitting driver’s door first. That’s a minute and a half. How about wait 30 seconds, wait 45 seconds, not a minute and a half. Can’t let the field come back through there.”

NASCAR’s decision-making in Chicago has been a real head-scratcher. During the race, the sanctioning body threw a caution for a medical emergency, allowing an ambulance to cross the track. But the same approach wasn’t followed for Berry or Ware, and even Kyle Petty admitted, “We’ve seen the inconsistency and we know that.” Perhaps it might be time for the sport to take a closer look at its safety policies. They may have pulled it off in the Windy City, but it’s a dangerous gamble, one that was made with the hopes of finishing the race before the rain arrived.