NASCAR officials suspend two Hendrick No. 5 crewmembers for dislodged wheel at Texas
NASCAR officials issued two-race suspensions Tuesday to two crewmembers of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team for a detached wheel in last Sunday’s Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Larson’s right-rear wheel came unfastened during a Stage 2 caution period in Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. He was penalized two laps during the race but regained some of the lost ground for a 21st-place finish on the lead lap.
RELATED: Cup Series standings | Weekend schedule: Talladega
Tuesday, the remaining penalty for the safety violation was handed out, with suspensions for the next two Cup Series events for No. 5 crewmembers Calvin Teague (rear-tire changer) and Brandon Johnson (jack). The suspension will be in effect for Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Talladega Superspeedway and the following week’s race at Dover Motor Speedway.
Competition officials also issued an indefinite suspension to Nicholas Covey for a violation of NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy. According to NASCAR’s team rosters portal, Covey was jackman for the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet as recently as the April 7 race at Martinsville Speedway.
Three other Cup Series crews were hit with one-race suspensions for Talladega for infractions related to protective clothing and equipment:
No. 17 RFK Racing tire carrier Zach Yager (gloves)
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing tire carrier Jake Holmes (helmet strap)
No. 33 Richard Childress Racing jackman Doug Warrick (helmet)
In the Xfinity Series, competition officials handed down a one-race suspension to Brandon Harder — fueler for the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team — for a protective clothing/equipment violation, specifically the protective apron.
Officials also fined two crew chiefs $5,000 apiece after their cars were found with one unsecured lug nut each in a post-race check:
No. 9 JR Motorsports crew chief Phillip Bell
No. 48 Big Machine Racing crew chief Patrick Donahue
In the Craftsman Truck Series, Henderson Motorsports crew chief Chris Carrier was fined $2,500 for a single unsecured lug nut on the No. 75 entry of Stefan Parsons post-race at Texas.
