“Nothing fun about being up in the tower”: Ken Schrader voices sympathy for NASCAR officials days after Chicago Cody Ware caution backlash

Former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader shared his take on the job of the NASCAR race director, days after Cody Ware's Chicago crash. Speaking in a recent interview, Schrader shared how difficult it is for a race director to spot everything from the top of the tower.

Schrader's comment came after the race director at the Chicago race failed to issue an immediate caution following Ware's crash into the barrier. During the final stage in the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course, Ware locked up his car in Turn 6 and went straight into the barrier.

The speed of the Rick Ware Racing driver was just below 100 miles an hour, and the impact was huge. Despite such an enormous impact, the race control waited more than 30 seconds to bring the caution, which raised multiple eyebrows.

However, Schrader, being a former driver who knows the sport inside out, knows the reason. Speaking about it in the recent Kenny Wallace Conversation on YouTube with Kenny Wallace, Schrader explained that the race directors are usually positioned at the top of the towers, and it gets difficult for them to understand the impact of the crash at times.

"Did the right thing," Schrader said. "Unless there's a guy (Cody Ware) sitting there, in a wrecked car, that needs help. It's a really tough business. Being up in that tower, oh my gosh. There are a lot of jobs that I think are pretty cool. A lot of fun in this sport. There's nothing fun about being up in that tower."

As Ware crashed, many people expected him to reverse, return to the racetrack, and continue his race. However, it did not turn out the way they wanted, and as a result, there was a delay in the caution.

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Shane van Gisbergen shared his take on the delayed caution in Cody Ware's case

Shane van Gisbergen let his feelings known on Cody Ware's crash that brought in a delayed caution late in the race. Speaking about the incident, here's what the Trackhouse Racing driver told NASCAR reporter Claire B. Lang:

"I don't think they saw the severity of the crash, or thought he could drive out. But I'm pretty sure in V8 supercars, when I left, the cars had like a G-sensor, or if you had a crash that was big enough, it would trigger that G-sensor to, you know, medical and probably race control."

"And maybe that's something we need here, if they don't have it already, and you know, if the crash is big enough, you need someone to, you know, obviously looking at that fan version of the car passing by, it's sickening to watch that. So yeah, I guess there needs to be something to be improved, but I feel like NASCAR in general is fast moving with that stuff, so I'm sure it'll be better," he further added.

Shane van Gisbergen claimed the Chicago Street Race victory ahead of Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick. Cody Ware, who crashed against the barrier, ended up in 26th and suffered a DNF.