While Josh Williams didn’t make the main event in the Busch Light Clash, he did get a shout-out from a NASCAR all-time great, Mark Martin. Williams made his first Cup Series start, although in an exhibition, in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevy. He almost made the big show, too.
If Chase Briscoe had been a touch slower, it would have been Williams in that finale last night. The lack of heat races and a Last Chance Qualifier meant he had to do it on practice/qualifying speed alone.
It was just a fraction of a difference but Josh Williams was excluded from the Busch Light Clash field. Still, he earned kind words from Mark Martin, a 40-time winner in the Cup Series, largely seen as the greatest driver to never win a championship.
“Josh Williams. Dude just needed a chance,” Martin wrote on X/Twitter. “Good for the sport for the underdogs to get a chance to shine.”
Folks, it wasn’t that long ago when Williams was building and racing his own cars in ARCA, and winning. He’s a gritty, old-school racer who wants nothing more than to compete. And, he’s got the endorsement of one of the best to ever do it.