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NASCAR executive explains Stewart Friesen penalty at ISM Raceway

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 08: Stewart Friesen, driver of the #52 Halmar International Chevrolet, takes the green flag to start the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix on November 08, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

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Stewart Friesen was the first to take the checkered flag in Friday night’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series race, but it was only after he was penalized for being the first driver to take the green flag at the start of the event.

Friesen, who started second, beat pole-sitter Austin Hill to the start-finish line after it appeared Hill spun his tires.

As a result, Friesen was forced to the rear of the field during a caution that came out on Lap 3.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, addressed why Friesen was penalized Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “The Morning Drive.”

“At the beginning of the race the leader earns that right with the pole and has to be the car to cross the start-finish line first,” O’Donnell said. “In this case, we can’t make judgments on what may or may not happen to the pole-sitter. When Stewart’s truck beat the pole-sitter to the line, that’s an automatic penalty for us.”

This is the second week in a row O’Donnell has explained NASCAR’s decision-making on a judgment call. Last week, it concerned intentional spins by drivers in the wake of Bubba Wallace’s spin at Texas Motor Speedway, which he was penalized for Saturday morning.

O’Donnell also compared the rule for the initial race start to guidelines for restarts.

“When we have a restart the rule is the leader at that time earns the ability to restart the race and get on the gas so-to-speak first,” O’Donnell said. “But then once the leader does that anything goes and the race is basically started back up again and the line doesn’t come into play.”

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