Natalie Decker’s Tough Day at Dover

Natalie Decker probably wishes she could wipe Friday’s race from her memory. The ECOSAVE 200 in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series took place in Dover, Delaware, but it didn’t go well for her. After just 81 laps, she decided to withdraw from the race.

Her team suggested she head to pit road to serve a pass-through penalty, but Decker expressed her reluctance, saying she “didn’t want to continue this.” She mentioned, “Guys, I’m trying my best to keep my pace, but I don’t want to keep doing this.” Earlier in the race, she had already incurred penalties, including one right at the start.

When her team urged her to keep racing, she let out some frustration, admitting to feeling overwhelmed. “There’s a lot I can say right now,” she said, adding something about her discontent with the series director.

When they proposed taking the truck to the garage, Decker worried that she might face a suspension and feel like she’d never compete in the Truck Series again. “This series sucks,” she remarked, expressing a desire to stick to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and concern over online criticism.

Decker officially finished in 34th place that day, just a week after placing 36th at Watkins Glen. The 28-year-old driver returned to NASCAR in the O’Reilly Series last August, following a year-long break after giving birth to her son, Levi, in February 2025.

Interestingly, she had shone in the Truck Series before, making history with a fifth-place finish at Daytona in 2020, the best by a female driver in that series. In the wake of her latest DNF, she took to Instagram to share her determination to keep racing.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m really disappointed in myself because taking all these penalties didn’t help my mental state,” she wrote. “There’s been a lot of hate directed at me since my last race, but nothing feels worse than the pressure I put on myself. Still, I’m going to push through this and control what I can going forward, showing up to the next race ready to do what I love.”