Penalty report: RCR No. 3 crew members suspended for detached wheel at Charlotte Roval
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):
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)