NASCAR has penalized the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team for a detached wheel during Sunday’s Cup Series race at the Charlotte Roval.
Austin Dillon’s left-front tire came loose in Turn 4 on lap 81, prompting the fifth and final caution period of the race. The loose wheel violated Sections 8.8.10.4.A & C in the NASCAR Rule Book, which covers the “loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle during the event.” Dillon was ultimately classified 32nd.
As a consequence, Joshua Thomas (front tire-changer) and Nick Covey (jack) have been suspended for the next two Cup Series events — Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the October 27 event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR also fined four crew chiefs from the Xfinity Series after their cars were found with a single unsecured lug nut each during post-race inspections. Each crew chief was fined $5,000 for the safety violations; the drivers for all four teams are still championship-eligible in the Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Teams with single-lug infractions (with their corresponding crew chiefs and drivers):
No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (crew chief James Pohlman, driver Justin Allgaier)
No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (crew chief Phillip Bell, driver Sammy Smith)
No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (crew chief Andy Street, driver Austin Hill)
No. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (crew chief Jeff Meendering, driver Chandler Smith)