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When you ask NASCAR fans who their favorite driver is, you’ll likely get a list of the usual suspects.
Chase Elliott has been voted the series’ most-popular driver each of the last five years. Former series champ Kyle Larson only continues to grow in popularity. And reigning champ Joey Logano is either loved or hated depending on who you ask.
But you could probably ask 100 fans and not one of them would utter the name Josh Williams.
Williams is a 29-year-old from Port Charlotte, Florida. He’s run just three Cup Series races in his career and has spent the majority of his time running in under-funded cars in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which is the equivalent of the minor leagues.
In eight Xfinity Series seasons, Williams has a career-best finish of sixth and has never finished higher than 15th in the series point standings.
But he’s popular among drivers. Not just because of his incredible mullet and great personality, but because Williams has mastered on-track etiquette and doesn’t ruin the races of those drivers competing for victories.
Now, however, he may have a lot more fans.
Williams shocked fans on Saturday when he parked his car on the track mid-race and walked into the garage.
The incident occurred after he was penalized by NASCAR for previous repairs that flew off his car and delayed the race.
“NASCAR made the decision and I didn’t agree at the time. But it’s in the rule book I guess,” he said after the race.
NASCAR Give Josh Williams One-Race Suspension
Unsurprisingly, NASCAR didn’t take too kindly to his display. The series has strict rules about drivers exiting their cars on track, especially without reason.
It came down on hard on Williams on Tuesday afternoon, suspending him for the next race.
Josh Williams suspended one race by NASCAR for parking his car on the track in protest then getting out and walking to the pits. The incident occurred during Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Atlanta. Williams will miss the Xfinity race at COTA.
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) March 21, 2023
Williams has not yet responded to the penalty. But his comments after the race made it clear he knew what was coming. On the bright side, his fan base is likely now 10 times the size it was before Saturday’s race.