NASCAR suspends two Richard Childress pit crew members; fines four Xfinity crew chiefs

NASCAR has suspended two over-the-wall pit crew members of the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 team over a wheel that came detached late in the Cup Series race on Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Driver Austin Dillon drove off pit road and immediately lost his left front wheel, bringing out the fifth and final caution, but also violating Sections 8.8.10.4.A & C in the NASCAR Rule Book, which spotlights the “loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle during the event.”

NASCAR gets to choose two members of the team to penalize as a result and front tire changer Joshua Thomas and jack man Nick Covey will be forced to sit out the next two Cup Series events at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami.

The sanctioning body also fined four Xfinity Series crew chiefs for having a single unsecured lug nut after the race, a $5,000 infraction:

• 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)

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• Jeff Gordon says Hendrick 48 team ‘cut it too close’ leading to Alex Bowman disqualification