NASCAR Xfinity’s Josh Williams on his career arc and that time cops escorted him to the hauler

When Josh Williams, NASCAR Xfinity series driver, sat down for our video series “Behind the Visor,” he made sure his mullet looked good on camera. Then he told some amazing stories about the biggest moments in his career — and the stories behind those moments.

Like when NASCAR made him park his car in the garage mid-race as a penalty at Atlanta in 2023, so he got mad and parked it on the finish line instead. What no one knew: cops escorted a very confused Williams over to the hauler for his conversation with officials. 

“They actually sent me with two cops to the infield care center, like I was going to break out of jail or something. So that was pretty cool,” remembers Williams, driver of the No. 11 car for Kaulig Racing. “A lot of people don’t know that part of the story. And I asked them, ‘What are y’all doing?’ They’re like, we were just told to follow you.”

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Williams also talks about working his way up to the Xfinity Series. With Kaulig, he now has more resources than ever. But he remembers coming up on smaller, less financially-blessed teams.

“Every day is a struggle,” Williams says. “There are times where we’ve got 30 races a year, and I’d run the same car 20 times. You have to think of the financial side: If I tear this car up, we might drive a car that’s not as good the next week.”

Josh Williams at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2023

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Watch the full episode of “Behind the Visor” with Josh Williams to hear all the details on how he started racing (at 4 years old), how he knows if a young driver has a chance at succeeding, and the angriest he can remember being in a car. 

This episode of “Behind the Visor” was edited by Matthew Fiveash and produced by Michael Perkins, with videography by Danny Seyffer.