NASCAR has suspended two crew members from Chris Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing team because of the right front wheel that came off the car on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Nicholas Patterson (jackman) and Jakob Prall (tire changer) will miss the next two Cup Series races at Phoenix Raceway (March 10) and Bristol Motor Speedway (March 17). It is an automatic two-race suspension when a wheel comes off on the racetrack. It is also a two-lap penalty, however, Buescher crashed in Turn 1 when the wheel came off and exited the race.
The wheel was left loose when the team took two tires under a lap 10 caution in the Pennzoil 400. Buescher left pit road first and was running inside the top 10 when the lug nut came off on lap 27, followed by the wheel. Buescher crashed into the outside wall and finished last in the race.