NASCAR officials announced penalties Tuesday to the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team for a detached wheel during last weekend’s Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
Austin Dillon drove the No. 3 Chevrolet to a 32nd-place finish in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400. In the 81st lap of the 109-lap race, the left-front tire dislodged as Dillon rounded Turn 4, forcing the event’s fifth and final caution period. The loose wheel violated Sections 8.8.10.4.A & C in the NASCAR Rule Book, which concerns the “loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle during the event.”
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As a result, competition officials suspended RCR No. 3 crew members Joshua Thomas (front tire-changer) and Nick Covey (jack) for the next two Cup Series events — Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Oct. 27 event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR officials also fined four crew chiefs from the Xfinity Series after their cars were found with a single unsecured lug nut each in a post-race check Saturday at the Charlotte Roval. 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):
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No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (crew chief James Pohlman, driver Justin Allgaier)
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No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (crew chief Phillip Bell, driver Sammy Smith)
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No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (crew chief Andy Street, driver Austin Hill)
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No. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (crew chief Jeff Meendering, driver Chandler Smith)
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