May 8, 2026. The date would have been immortalized in NASCAR history! At Watkins Glen International, Dystany Spurlock had a chance to become the first Black woman to start a race in one of NASCAR’s top three national series. However, due to a heartbreaking late development, the celebrations quickly turned into frustration and outrage, with NASCAR fans blasting the situation online and accusing teams of fumbling a massive moment for the sport.

Dystany Spurlock’s moment slips away

Toni Breidinger and Dystany Spurlock were left out in the 36-truck field for Friday’s Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at Watkins Glen International. There were 38 trucks on the weekend entry list, therefore it was certain that two drivers would be sent home following qualifying.

Due to previous rain showers and a drying track, NASCAR had to change the initial qualifying format, which made the situation even more chaotic. Officials combined everything into a single 30-minute session where the entire field hit the track together, as opposed to running two distinct groups in shorter intervals. As a result, there was an instant, chaotic rush for clean laps and track position.

Despite the challenging circumstances, Dystany Spurlock qualified ahead of Natalie Decker and Stephen Mallozzi. Her No. 69 MBM Motorsports truck, however, did not have the owner points required to obtain a provisional position in the field. And despite outqualifying four trucks on outright pace, Breidinger met the same end.

 

Fans were particularly hurt by the outcome because of this. Simply enough, neither driver was sluggish enough to inevitably miss the field. The decisive element, in the end, proved to be the owner-points system. For Dystany Spurlock, especially, the disappointment carried extra weight.

Alongside her Truck Series debut attempt, she was also preparing to compete in the General Tire 100, just her second ARCA Menards Series start. Meanwhile, Breidinger’s setback continued a difficult trend after she also failed to qualify for the Truck Series opener at Daytona International Speedway earlier this season.

Social media erupted in anger as soon as it was revealed that both drivers would miss the race despite displaying a competitive pace. While some fans blamed the owner-points system for keeping a potentially historic and significant moment from happening on track, many others deemed the situation disgraceful for NASCAR. Here’s everything that the fans had to say.

Fans furious over NASCAR qualifying system

The backlash online was immediate once fans realized how close Dystany Spurlock came to making history. One disappointed fan wrote, “That sucks, I was really looking forward to seeing what Destiny could do. Hopefully, she will attempt another race.”

And honestly, that frustration made sense. Spurlock has quietly built impressive momentum in the ARCA Menards Series this year. She finished seventh at Hickory Motor Speedway after starting eighth, followed it up with a 12th-place result at Rockingham Speedway, and then produced her breakout performance at Kansas Speedway by charging from 29th to a top-10 finish. Naturally, many fans believed Watkins Glen could have been another statement moment at the top level.

Others were simply confused by the qualification system itself. “Wasn’t the 69 34th on the board,” one fan questioned after seeing Spurlock’s speed in qualifying. Technically, they were right. However, NASCAR rules only locked the fastest 31 trucks into the field on speed, while the remaining spots were determined through owner points.

That explanation did little to calm the outrage. “This was a bit farcical. Toni especially was fast enough,” another fan posted, referring to Toni Breidinger outperforming multiple qualified trucks on pure pace. Another frustrated comment read, “33 and 22 were the slowest they should be the ones going home!!!!” referencing Stephen Mallozzi and Natalie Decker, who were slower than both Toni Breidinger and Dystany Spurlock.

But perhaps the harshest criticism targeted Breidinger’s team strategy itself. “Malpractice, they didn’t switch Kris and Toni owners point before weekend,” one fan wrote. In NASCAR, owners’ points are tied to the charter and specific car number rather than the driver, and teams frequently swap those points between a top-performing and a low-performing team strategically to protect entries. Fans believed failing to do so may have directly cost Breidinger her race spot and potentially cost NASCAR a major headline moment as well.

For many fans, the frustration went beyond just two drivers missing a race. It felt like NASCAR had missed a rare opportunity to showcase both diversity and emerging talent on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

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