Monday NASCAR issued penalties for lug-nut violations after Sunday’s Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, including a one-race suspension for Chris Gayle, crew chief of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 team.
The No. 20 Toyota was found with two lug nuts not safely secured in a post-race check after Erik Jones drove the car to an eighth-place finish in The Real Heroes 400 at the 1.366-mile track. Monday, NASCAR officials fined Gayle $20,000 and suspended him for the next points-paying Cup Series event, scheduled Wednesday at Darlington.
Shortly after the penalties were announced, an update to the entry list showed that race engineer Seth Chavka would replace Gayle on the No. 20 team’s pit box for Wednesday’s Toyota 500.
Five other Cup Series teams were found with one unsecured lug nut each after Sunday’s 400-miler. Crew chiefs for those teams were each fined $10,000 for the safety violation of Section 10.9.10.4 in the 2020 NASCAR Rule Book.
The other teams (and crew chiefs) penalized:
• No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford for race winner Kevin Harvick (crew chief Rodney Childers)
• No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Denny Hamlin (crew chief Chris Gabehart)
• No. 22 Team Penske Ford for Joey Logano (crew chief Paul Wolfe)
• No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet for Matt Kenseth (crew chief Chad Johnston)
• No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota for Christopher Bell (crew chief Jason Ratcliff)
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.
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