Friday Faceoff: Should William Sawalich Have Been Penalized for Wrecking Corey Day?

1) After all the brake issues in Sunday’s race, should NASCAR make changes to the higher horsepower package that are specific to Gateway?

Jeffrey Boswell: NASCAR absolutely needs to make changes. It’s bad enough that several drivers suffered brake failures during the race; the more concerning issue is that many happened with little or no warning. A lower horsepower package would alleviate some of the brake issues. Hopefully, any remaining brake issues would be noticeable to the drivers, and they could take steps to avoid a catastrophic brake failure.

Jon Iaccino: No. The Next Gen car has always had brake issues at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, no matter the rules package. The brake problems are attributed to the car itself and not anything to really do with the horsepower or downforce of the cars. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series cars seemingly don’t have brake issues at the track, and they had much longer green-flag runs on Saturday as opposed to the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday. Virtually every Cup race at Gateway since 2022 has had some semblance of braking problems. It does almost feel like a game of Russian roulette wondering which car is going to break (pun slightly intended), but I’m not sure what can entirely fix the problem outside of a brand-new Cup car.

Christopher Hansen: Yes. In all the Cup races this season with the higher-horsepower package, Gateway was the only track where multiple drivers had brake failures. Over the offseason, NASCAR and the teams should sit down and focus on that track specifically to avoid another chaotic race like last weekend, when several drivers crashed out of the race due to brake failures.

Michael Bellifemini: Possibly. Usually, it’s been the Toyotas with brake issues, but it was mostly Fords on Sunday, so maybe it was a manufacturer-specific problem. Maybe it would be a good idea to run a test at the track in the offseason with different horsepower levels to compare how the brakes look.

2) Out of the 16 Chase drivers, which ones would you consider to be eliminated from championship contention?

Alex Klancko: This is going to be a hot take, but William Byron. Byron was slow in the opening Chase race at Darlington Raceway, finishing 37th after not finishing the race. But even before that, Byron didn’t have the speed to compete for the top 10, and he is in top-level equipment. At Gateway, Byron showed some more speed and finished fourth. Despite that, Byron never truly competed for the win, and to win The Chase from 13th where he started, you need to win races. Since 2004, only one driver won from outside the top 10 with 10 races to go. That was Ryan Blaney in the 2023 playoffs.

Cameron Bebeau: Everybody from Chase Elliott on back is effectively done. I haven’t seen the momentum I would’ve wanted to see during the playoffs from the No. 9 team, and while it isn’t mathematically impossible, I don’t see it popping off with two-plus wins while its competitors falter simultaneously, as they would need to, and that goes for all of the drivers behind him.

Bellifemini: Right now, I would only consider the top eight in points to still have a shot at the title. The bottom eight have been too streaky, and their deficits are too big unless they win multiple races, which I don’t see happening.

Hansen: Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Byron and Daniel Suarez. While Cindric’s finishes in the first two Chase races haven’t been bad by any means, he hasn’t shown true race-winning speed like his Team Penske teammates, Blaney and Joey Logano. Buescher has had a miserable two weeks with finishes of 20th and 27th putting him over 100 points back. Preece is in the same boat as Cindric with two acceptable finishes of 10th and 17th, miring him more than 100 points behind Denny Hamlin. After a 37th-place finish at Darlington, Byron rebounded with a much-needed fourth-place run at Gateway. However, he finds himself 114 points behind with eight races remaining. Unless Byron gets on a hot streak, his title chances are effectively over. Lastly, Suarez has had two disappointing races in his first Chase run for Spire Motorsports, sitting 119 points behind after finishes of 21st and 29th. One more result like that and Suarez’s Chase will be over.

Iaccino: Because of how important wins are in this updated version of The Chase, I’m really not sure if anybody can actually be counted out just yet. There are still eight races left, and if you’re one of those teams outside of the top 10 that can win a couple of races, you can thrust yourself back into the picture. However, that is going to need to happen sooner rather than later (like this week), because time will start to eventually run out. But let’s hypothetically say Buescher (currently 13th in points and 111 points behind the leader), who has won a Cup race at Bristol in the Next Gen era, goes out and wins Saturday night. He’d gain a minimum of 20 points on the leader for winning the race. Depending on how the stages play out, he could gain even more than that on the leader too. That would cut a 111-point deficit to under 90 in just one race. Let’s see how Saturday night goes, but whoever is over 100 points out of the lead after the third race of The Chase will be in pretty dire shape of a championship run.

3) Alex Bowman is riding a streak of five-straight top-15 finishes. Is this late-season run setting him up for a great final season in 2027?

Boswell: If nothing else, Alex Bowman’s hot streak is building the confidence he’ll need to make the most of his final season with Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman’s issues with vertigo early in the 2026 season certainly left him with doubts about his health, ability and future. His recent run should quell all of those concerns. With HMS power, Bowman has the car, and his form of late proves he has the ability, something he’s likely doubted given the health situation. 2027 could prove similar to his 2024 season, when he logged one win and consistently finished in the top 10.

Iaccino: Yes, absolutely. Hendrick has looked stronger lately across the board, and its performance at Gateway was not a fluke — three cars finished in the top five, and Elliott was running strong before his brake failure. As long as Bowman remains healthy and his bout with vertigo stays behind him, I’m looking at the No. 48 team as one of the 16 to make the Chase in 2027, and for Bowman to win at least one race in his final year in the Cup Series.

Hansen: A strong end to 2026 will benefit Bowman as he heads into his final full-time Cup season in 2027. While his cars have lacked raw speed compared to his Hendrick teammates, Bowman’s second-place finish at Gateway last weekend gave the No. 48 team the confidence boost it needed to end the year on a positive note.

Bebeau: I’d want to see more before I confidently say yes or no. Bowman has always been a solid driver when he isn’t being plagued by injuries or personal setbacks. It’s great that the team is where it should be, because it shows it’s putting in the effort needed to escape the sub-20th-place runs it’s had.

Klancko: Bowman has been a consistent driver over the course of his career, and this season is clearly an outlier. Since the pressure is finally off of him following his announcement to retire after the 2027 season, Bowman has become rejuvenated. In the past five races, Bowman has a top 10 every other race, and in the other two, he finished inside the top 15. This season has been rough for Bowman, though, as he currently sits 27th in points, which is the lowest of his career if he stays there. To be fair, Bowman has run four less races compared to his competitors this season after a vertigo problem early in the season, but that doesn’t change how poor he has raced compared to previous seasons. Normally, Bowman is good for a win a year, and with the confidence he has gained over the past five weeks, he is setting himself up for a fantastic 2027.

4) Should William Sawalich have been penalized for wrecking Corey Day in the O’Reilly race at Gateway?

Bellifemini: William Sawalich’s intentions were just to bump into Corey Day, but the contact with Justin Allgaier sent him hard into the inside wall. The move damaged Sawalich’s car and took away a potential top-five or top-10 finish, so that was enough of a penalty in my eyes.

Boswell: NASCAR got it wrong, again. Sawalich hit the leniency jackpot for guilty drivers — he was penalized neither for the act of wrecking Day nor for all but saying he intended to do it. Any evidence of premeditation from a driver who wrecks another would seem to make NASCAR’s disciplinary job much easier, and it almost guarantees a driver will face harsher discipline. Not this time.

Klancko: Sawalich should have been penalized. Intentionally wrecking someone during a race is very dangerous and could lead to major injuries if the wreck is bad enough. I get Sawalich is mad Day wrecked him multiple times throughout the season, but those wrecks weren’t intentional, and wrecking someone intentionally doesn’t solve the issue at hand. Plus, in recent history when drivers intentionally wreck someone, they get punished. Not penalizing a driver for intentionally wrecking someone sets a precedent that it is OK to do, and the fact is it is very much not. Even if the punishment was just fining him or taking away drivers points instead of a suspension, that would be good enough to make a point. But not doing anything doesn’t further the sport and just make incidents like this happen more often.

Bebeau: Sawalich definitely should’ve been penalized. It wasn’t as egregious as a right hook into the outside wall, but still. Swerving into your competitor, who then subsequently hits the inside wall like Day did, should warrant the same scrutiny.