In the last few weeks, Justin Haley has had a good performance in the NASCAR Cup Series. He finished P17 in Bristol, his best result so far, and qualified P13 for the race at the Circuit of the Americas. The driver of the #51 car earned another P17 finish after the race and was quite satisfied with his performance. However, NASCAR swooped in to cut the celebrations short as it disqualified the 24-year-old for his car being lighter than the minimum post-race weight requirements. As a result, Haley dropped from P17 to P39. While that was heartbreaking and confusing for many, Rick Ware Racing’s statement regarding the DQ later was no less, as it left the community utterly baffled.

Justin Haley’s efforts go in vain as back-to-back top 20 finishes slip away 

After the race, the 24-year-old driver said that he was quite happy with the recent performances. RWR is not one of the big teams in the Cup Series, so back-to-back top 20 finishes mean a lot. But, things turned upside down for the young driver soon. While the reason for the penalty has already been made public, many were perhaps expecting a more detailed look into what exactly went down from Haley’s team. And boy were they in for a surprise! One, straight-to-the-point line, is all the team wrote.

“The car was just too light in post-race inspection,” a statement released by Rick Ware Racing read, as per veteran motorsports journalist Bob Pockrass. The team didn’t mention whether they are going to appeal the decision, so for now, we can assume they won’t. One might suggest that the loss of fuel over the course of the race might have been the case, but then every single car on the grid would have faced a similar issue.

In today’s day and age, NASCAR is quite particular about their rule of all cars being the same. So when one team does something that’s different, it stands out more prominently than ever. Fans believe that the #51 must have done something out of the rule books to the car, as they simply were not buying the team’s statement.

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NASCAR fans left scratching their heads over illogical statement

Some fans believe that Rick Ware Racing is known for such confusing statements and they let their opinions be known under Pockrass’ tweet. “What a statement,” one user sarcastically commented. Other fans also became sarcastic with their assessment of the shocking statement.

“Greatest statement of all time. No filler, no excuses, no announcing a plan for an appeal. Just straight facts right to the point,” one fan wrote. There was also a sense of confusion regarding what RWR had put out as fans questioned the logic behind it. “How does this happen? How does the car become too light during the race?” asked one user.

And there were some people, probably RWR fans, who believed that everything was okay with the car, but it was NASCAR that was trying to sabotage the team. “NASCAR doesn’t want to see RWR on top,” one user commented. 

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Having said that, what is your theory on the matter? How can a car lose so much weight during a race? Let us know in the comments below!