Once again, loose wheels were a problem this past weekend at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway, both in the Cup and Xfinity series races.
During the completion of Monday’s rain-delayed race at Dover, both the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin and the No. 16 Chevrolet of A.J. Allmendinger lost wheels after pit stops.
From Hamlin’s team, crew chief Chris Gabehart and crew members Derrell Edwards and Blake Houston have all been suspended from the next four races (through the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte).
From Allmendinger’s Kaulig Racing team, crew chief Matt Swiderski and crew members Keiston France and Jonathan Willard have all been suspended from the next four races.
So far this season, NASCAR has issued suspensions to eight different teams for having wheels come loose during Cup races.
In last Saturday’s Xfinity race, the No. 1 Chevrolet of Sam Mayer also lost a wheel on track.
The JR Motorsports team’s crew chief Taylor Moyer and crew members Orane Ossowski and Markus Pierce-Brewster have all been suspended for the next four Xfinity Series races.
In addition, NASCAR also announced the indefinite suspension of Jason Houghtaling, who served as crew chief for Xfinity Series driver Jesse Iwuji for the first eight races of the 2022 seasons.
Houghtaling was suspended based on Section 4.4.e of the rule book which says a member could face a penalty for a “Statement and/or communication made public (including social media platforms) that demeans, criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition.”
Houghtaling is no longer with the Jesse Iwuji Motorsports team.