LAS VEGAS, Nev. — For the third week in a row, Josh Williams started a NASCAR Xfinity Series race while battling illness.
The previous two weeks, the Kaulig Racing driver powered through it to finish 15th at Circuit of the Americas and 12th at Phoenix Raceway. But at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon (March 15), whatever is ailing Williams’ respiratory system proved to be too much.
The 31-year-old complained of not being able to breathe throughout stage one. Finally, under the caution during the stage break, Williams got out of the car and was replaced by Kaulig NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Dillon.
“Yeah, there was a potential for it,” Dillon told Frontstretch on if he knew he would be needed to substitute. “And I know Josh [Williams] wanted to battle and be a warrior there. I think he’s just too sick. So hopefully he gets better. But I knew there was potential for it, and then I got a text, ‘Got to get to the pit box pretty quick.'”
The No. 11 car lost a handful of laps making the driver swap, and Dillon entered the race in 37th. The car lost even more laps as the day went on, and it was a struggle for Dillon, as he is a bigger guy than Williams. Despite that, he moved up eight spots over the course of the race, scoring 29th-place points for Williams.
“I hate I couldn’t make more out of it, but it was a tough seat to fit in — pretty, pretty tight,” Dillon said. “But I’m glad I was able to step in and finish it out for these guys, and I know anybody else would do the same thing for me too.”
It was the second time in his NASCAR career Dillon has been a relief driver. He previously subbed for Tony Stewart at Talladega Superspeedway in 2016 after Stewart had a back injury.
But I finished sixth in the other one when he did that, so [this race] wasn’t as good,” Dillon said.
Back on pit road, a medical stretcher was brought out for Williams, but he ultimately didn’t get on it. Instead, he climbed up on the pit box and watched the race. Frontstretch sought comment from Williams after the race, but he had gone back to rest in the hauler.
“No, I don’t think he’s feeling much better,” Kaulig President Chris Rice said. “I mean, you look at it, we all went through the flu probably. But coming over to Phoenix and flying back home, then coming back over here, you can just tell he’s under the weather. I seen him last night, talked to him.
“Thank goodness we have Ty Dillon. Him and Josh are about the same size. So the main thing is Josh getting better, that’s the key. We don’t wanna wreck. We just wanna make sure that we finish the races.”
It’s unknown yet as to whether Williams will be able to race next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hopefully, he will figure out what’s ailing him and the streak of races battling this sickness ends at three.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.