The American Crate Late Model Series issued a statement explaining why it originally decided to disqualify Chase Holland on Saturday night after his victory at Kennedale Speedway Park while also sharing that it has reversed that decision awarding him the win and paying him the winnings.

On Saturday night it appeared that Chase Holland had won the race, but Holland would share on Facebook that he was disqualified because his “crew came on the track to take a photo with me in victory lane after approval from [Kennedale Speedway Park] TRACK officials. The American Crate Late Model Series doesn’t allow crews in infield at any time so they DQ me. Series owner inherited win from it…”

In another post, Holland wrote, “Now that the dust has settled… We had a textbook weekend and I couldn’t be more thankful for this little dream team that was able to pick up TWO wins in Texas. I can’t thank the Mitchell family enough for letting us compete in the All Jacked Up #10 car.”

“There’s a lot that can be said about last night’s incident, but the only thing I want to say is KENNEDALE SPEEDWAY PARK treated us extremely well while at their facility and the American Crate Late Model Series is who made the decision to take our win away,” he added. “Thank you to all of our amazing marketing partners, family, and fans. We are excited to be back in the saddle of the Broadus Family owned super late model this coming weekend at Pine ridge.”

Holland has since edited the post and removed the comment about the track and the series.

The series owner Donnie Shipp explained the situation in a post to Facebook as well prefacing that he had “received countless negative messages, including death threats. It is deeply disturbing that a situation like this has escalated to that level. We hope that after everyone reads and shares this statement, those who have publicly criticized our series will also take the opportunity to acknowledge the full circumstances and extend the same energy toward a positive resolution”

From there, he shared that “series officials have spent a significant amount of time reviewing the incident and discussing the best path forward for everyone involved.”

Next, Shipp shared there was a breakdown in communication between the series and the track regarding the series’ rule preventing crew members from being in the infield, “First and foremost, we acknowledge that we failed to properly communicate our series rule regarding infield access to the race track. We take full responsibility for that oversight. However, it is important to understand that we have competed at this facility for the past five seasons, and this particular rule has been in place within our series for nearly three years without any previous issues.”

“We also believe mistakes were made by all parties involved,” he continued. “Chase’s crew had followed the same rule the previous night without issue, and the race track did not communicate to the series director that fans would be permitted to enter the infield following the race.”

From there, the reason for the initial disqualification was shared, “As everyone knows, Chase won the A-Main on Saturday night. He was subsequently disqualified because members of his crew entered the track and infield area with permission from track personnel, unaware that doing so violated our series rule. This rule has been in effect for nearly three years and is discussed during every drivers’ meeting. We also understand that track personnel instructed them to enter the infield. The same situation existed the night before when Chase also won, and everyone complied with the rule without incident.”

“We have always offered our winning drivers the opportunity to remain after the completion of the race program and celebrate their victories in the infield once all racing activities have concluded,” Shipp added. “While we understand this rule may not be popular with everyone, we feel it is important to explain why it exists. The safety of our fans, driver’s, and crews are the most important thing to us!”

“Over the last four years in the DFW racing community, there have been three separate incidents involving individuals being struck by race cars in the infield. One of those incidents occurred at the very track where we raced on Saturday night. In fact, the current promoter of that facility was nearly fatality injured when a sprint car lost control and entered the infield area and struck him,” he elaborated. “Additionally, there are two tracks on our series schedule that prohibit anyone other than authorized track personnel from entering the infield. To eliminate confusion regarding when and where infield access is permitted, our series adopted a consistent policy that applies at every event. For that reason, we were disappointed by some of the public criticism directed toward our series. Given his own experience with a serious infield safety incident, we believed the promoter would understand and support the intent behind this safety rule.”

Shipp then shared that the series reversed the DQ and awarded Holland the race winnings, “First, we fully accept responsibility for the communication breakdown and will take steps to ensure this issue is addressed moving forward. Second, we had a productive conversation with Chase on Sunday, and together we reached a resolution. As of Monday around lunchtime, I sent Chase the winnings he earned and overnighted the payment to the address he provided. Finally, we have agreed to officially reinstate Chase Holland’s victory from Saturday night in full.”

He then addressed theories that Holland was disqualified in order to give him the win. He finished second in the race and inherited the win after Holland’s initial disqualification, “Nothing could be further from the truth. Most people are unaware that I personally helped Chase several times over the weekend. On Friday, Chase contacted me because he needed tires. I drove approximately an hour each way to pick them up from our local supplier for him. Then on Saturday night, before the A-Main, Chase found himself short on fuel. After topping off my own car, I had exactly 10 gallons remaining in my trailer, which I sold to him so he could compete in the feature event.”

“I share those details simply to demonstrate that there was never any effort to unfairly target or disadvantage Chase. If that were the case, I certainly would not have gone out of my way to assist him throughout the weekend,” he explained. “I love this sport and have always tried to do my part to help it grow and remain strong. We are all human, and mistakes will happen from time to time. What truly matters is how we respond to those mistakes and work together to make things right.”

“Thank you, Chase, for supporting our series, and congratulations on both of your victories this weekend,” he concluded.

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