NASCAR Announces Penalties Following Atlanta Weekend

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer

Teams in all three of NASCAR’s National Series were penalized following the race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Lug nuts were the main culprit, accounting for three of the four penalties that NASCAR issued on Wednesday.

Following the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, the race winning car of Kevin Harvick was found to have an improperly installed lug nut. Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $10,000 as a result.

The same lug nut issue was found after the Rinnai 250 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as well. Two teams, the No. 52 driven by David Starr and the No. 42 driven by John Hunter Nemechek were also found to have improperly installed lug nuts post-race. Starr’s crew chief Tim Brown, and Nemechek’s crew chief Mike Shiplett were both issued fines of $5,000. Nemechek finished fourth and Starr finished in 28^th, five laps down.

The biggest penalty of the weekend occurred in the Active Pest Control 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Following the final pit stop, the left rear wheel of Kyle Busch’s No. 4 Cessna Toyota Tundra came off the truck just beyond the exit of pit road. Busch immediately proceeded to reverse back to his pit stall to replace the missing wheel. He finished 21^st, one lap down.

Kyle Busch Motorsports crew chief Marcus Richmond II, rear tire changer Coleman Dollarhide, and jackman Ernie Pierce have been suspended for the next three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Dollarhide and Pierce can continue their regular roles working for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Cup Series, as well as opportunities in the Xfinity Series.

I definitely made a mistake last week at Atlanta. I called for RS tires while focusing on the RF. I am glad that the pit crew did not get suspended from cup races! With the support of @KBMteam and all the guys on this 4 team will pull through and not miss a beat!

— marcus richmond (@MarcusRichmond_) February 28, 2018

None of the teams have announced whether they will appeal the penalties.