Fired NASCAR spotter opens up on massive Vegas wreck

Fired NASCAR Cup Series spotter Joe White has opened up on his abrupt release from Kaulig Racing.

White revealed on social media that he'd been fired by Kaulig Racing shortly after his arrival at Talladega this week, with Frank Deiny moved into his place to spot for Ty Dillon this weekend.

The move comes after Dillon got in a massive wreck last Sunday at Las Vegas after some confusion led to William Byron not being made aware that the No. 10 car was coming to pit road, the pair colliding hard.

Byron said after the race that 'as far as [he] knew', nobody had indicated the pit stop to his spotter, something which White disputes.

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White: I was misunderstood for Dillon wreck

Speaking to the Athletic after being relieved of his duties, White said: “I got fired. I got let go from my position. I’m disappointed but not surprised either, as I knew I wasn’t going back to spot that car next year anyway. (Kaulig CEO Chris Rice) called and said, ‘How are you doing?’ And I said I was great. And he goes, ‘We’re making a spotter change starting immediately'.”

On the wreck itself, he claimed: “Brandon (Lines, Byron's spotter) is at the other end of the spotter stand towards Turn 1, so I was like, ‘I got to get to Brandon'. So I hustled down there.

"I didn’t get to him; I didn’t touch him on the shoulder, turn him around, but I got, I would say, four or five feet from him, couple people down, and he turned and looked at me. We made eye contact.

"I pointed to the bottom, twice, and mouthed the words ‘we’re pitting’ – even though I know he can’t hear and he probably can’t read my lips, but I gestured just like I would do any other person that we’re pitting.

“Obviously, that was misunderstood. He thought we were giving him the bottom, and that was not the case.”

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