NASCAR: Is Richmond ambulance explanation reasonable?

The wreck

Here is a video of the accident that took place thanks to the ambulance being on the apron of the track as a lot of cars made their way into the pits.

This is a wreck that could have had serious playoff implications. Matt Kenseth ended up being the final driver to qualify for this season’s playoffs in the 16th playoff spot, as he was unable to win a single race in the regular season and made it into the playoffs on points.

However, had a driver who had not yet won in the 2017 season (or Joey Logano, since his lone win earlier in the season at Richmond was encumbered) and was not in the playoff picture based on points total ended up winning the race, Kenseth would have been out of the playoffs, and it would have been thanks to this 100% avoidable incident with the ambulance.

And guess what? He almost ended up failing to qualify for the playoffs because of it. Joey Logano, whose lone win earlier in the season was encumbered, finished the race in 2nd place, while winless rookies Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez finished in 6th and 7th, respectively. That’s how close Kenseth was to not making the playoffs as a result of this incident with the ambulance; three drivers who very well could have taken his spot were within striking distance of race winner Kyle Larson.

Here is how NASCAR explained what went down with the ambulance and why what happened happened.