The No. 17 NASCAR Ford Mustang of Chris Buescher suffered a loose wheel at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 3rd, 2024, resulting not only in a wrecked race car, but penalties to Buescher’s team, according to a report from NASCAR.com.
On Lap 32 of 267, Buescher hammered the wall, drawing a caution. The right front wheel had broken apart after not being properly tightened during a pit stop, causing Buescher’s wreck and severely damaging his race car enough that it had to be hauled off the racing surface on a wrecker. In fact, the retaining wall itself was damaged in the incident, and a red flag was called so the broken portion could be welded back together. Buescher ultimately finished dead last and was credited with a 38th-place result in Sunday’s Cup Series race.
As outlined in Sections 8.8.10.4 A&C (Tires and Wheels; Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle during the event) in the NASCAR Rule Book, two crew members from the No. 17 NASCAR Ford team have been suspended from the two subsequent Cup Series events. This includes jackman Nicholas Patterson and front tire changer Jakob Prall, who will miss the races at Phoenix on March 10th and Bristol on March 17th.
The NASCAR Ford teams seem to have come under fire from NASCAR as of late. Just last week, three Blue Oval competitors were nailed with severe penalties following the race at Atlanta on February 25th. Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Mustang, was found to have a webbed glove, which goes against guidelines, while two other Mustang Dark Horse race cars had parts confiscated before practice. The parts were seized from the No. 41 Mustang driven by Ryan Preece and the No. 10 Mustang driven by Noah Gragson. Later, officials announced that the roof air deflectors were not in compliance with the NASCAR Rule Book.
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