NASCAR issues penalties after Atlanta

NASCAR issued its weekly postrace penalty report Wednesday with penalties issued for all three of the top touring series after last weekend’s races in Atlanta.

The winning team, the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with driver Kevin Harvick was cited for an unsecured lug nut found in post-race inspection. Crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $10,000.

In the Xfinity Series there were two violations. One for the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 with driver John Hunter Nemechek, and the other for the No. 52 Means Motorsports Chevy with driver David Starr.  Both cars had one unsecured lug nut found in postrace inspection. Crew chiefs Mike Shiplett (No. 42) and Tim Brown (No. 52) were each fined $5,000.

The biggest penalties were issued to one team in the Camping World Truck Series.  The No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, raced by Kyle Busch was hit with a safety violation for an improperly installed wheel. On the last pit stop of the race, with Busch leading, he left pit road only to have the left rear tire come off. Crew chief Marcus Richmond, rear tire changer Coleman Dollarhide and jackman Ernie Pierce each received a three-race suspension in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the violation.

The crewmembers, Dollarhide and Pierce both pit for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Monster Energy Series, however their eligibility in that series is not affected. Dollarhide was listed as the rear changer for the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team of Kurt Busch last week, with Pierce as jackman for the No. 14 of Clint Bowyer.

The full penalty report can be found here.

 

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.