Ryan Preece was angry after his shot at making the All-Star Race was by a costly penalty in the All-Star Open.
His No. 60 Ford was running second before a restart with 17 laps remaining but was sent to the rear for rolling over the restart commitment box.
Drivers must commit to choosing the inside or outside lane before reaching the restart commitment box, but Preece said it was difficult to see the zone.
Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek and Noah Gragson are in the All-Star Race.
“It’s really nonexistent from inside the car,” the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver told FS1’s Regan Smith. “You can’t see it. So I just hooked a hard left going acoss the line, figuring it’s in that area. I’m frustrated because if you have a situation like that, put a cone out there so we can see it.”
Preece had gained seven positions since a four-tire pit stop during the halfway caution, putting him in good position to race All-Star Open winner Caron Hocevar, who had taken the lead on a two-tire stop.
“Our Ford Mustang was super fast, could run in the way top, get around guys and I think we were the only one that was making some waves. Frusrated, man. We were in position here. Heartbreaking to have a heartbreaking run like that taken away by someone in the (NASCAR scoring) tower.”
After the Open ended, NASCAR officials had track workers immediately repaint the commitment box, whose colors seemed to fade during the Modified race earlier Sunday.
