“They’ve got to get better”: Kyle Petty unhappy with NASCAR drivers after chaotic Nashville overtimes

Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty has expressed displeasure over the chaos at Nashville Superspeedway that resulted in five overtime restarts. Multiple cautions were issued during the closing moments of the race, shuffling the high-octane rides' track positions.

Nashville welcomed the Ally 400 for the fourth time and witnessed a turnaround after Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson wrecked on Lap 299. While Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain led the pack during the first restart, by the time the fifth overtime was green-flagged, the order shuffled as many drivers ran out of fuel. But Joey Logano survived the chaos to bring home his first Cup win in 2024.

The 300-lap race which extended to 331 seemed like an unending affair. Shortly after the first overtime restart was green-flagged, a cascading effect of cautions ensued. From Kyle Larson wrecking Ross Chastain on the first restart and a multi-car pileup in the second to Kyle Busch and Josh Berry getting spun during the third and fourth overtime, the drivers couldn't keep up for long during the restarts.

The caution-riddled race didn't please NASCAR's former driver Kyle Petty. He shared his disappointment as he didn't expect the "greatest drivers in the world" to crash into the rivals before running "three laps" straight.

"These guys are trying to get everything they can on the restart. I completely understand but taking each other out, knocking each other out. These are the greatest drivers in the world and they can't run three laps, what is up with that? They've got to be better about this, you can't have that," Petty said via NASCAR on YouTube (1.05).

NASCAR insider calls out "unlimited attempts" which resulted in five overtime restarts

Christopher Bell dominated the majority of the Ally 400 dash. After starting his run from third place, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver reigned supreme for 131 laps and swept both stage wins. However, on Lap 228, the #20 Toyota driver got loose and rammed his ride into the wall and out of the race.

Shortly after Bell's exit, the Music City's asphalt was wrapped with troubles as the final stage battle brought a slew of wrecks and cautions. Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain fought hard for the lead, with just two laps left, but Cindric's spin reset the field.

During the 31-lap overtime, several drivers like Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, and Chase Briscoe, succumbed to fuel exhaustion as the teams didn't expect the overtimes to stretch so far. Moreover, the wreck-fest during the closing moments increased the repair bill of the teams.

NASCAR insider Freddie Kraft wasn't pleased with the "unlimited wrecks" at Nashville and called out the management for giving a leeway to the drivers to run carefree during the overtime.

"Millions and millions of dollars of s**t got torn up because we can't figure out how to restart without running into each other. If the race is 300 laps, that's it. If you want maybe one attempt a green white checkered but this is what happens when you have unlimited attempts, we just have unlimited wrecks running each other over," Kraft said via Door Bumper Clear on YouTube (12.43).

So far, there's no limit to how many restarts can be initiated in a NASCAR race, but if that comes to fruition, it will be interesting to see how the drivers will act during the overtime restarts.