Austin Dillon will be without two of his crew members for the next two weeks due to a penalty from the Charlotte Roval.
NASCAR has suspended front tire changer Joshua Thomas and jackman Nicholas Covey for the next two Cup Series races. This is the result of Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro losing a wheel during last weekend's race.
The two Richard Childress Racing crew members will be eligible to return for the Nov. 3 race at Martinsville Speedway.
The lost wheel occurred on Lap 81 of the Round of 12 elimination race. Dillon made a green flag pit stop on Lap 73 along with such drivers as Martin Truex Jr., Kaz Grala, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Eight laps later, the front left tire and wheel detached from the No. 3 Chevrolet. It came off on the track, which brought out the caution. Dillon made it back to pit road where NASCAR held him for two laps.
Since the wheel came off on the track, it included the additional penalty of a two-race suspension for two crew members.
This is a rule NASCAR changed ahead of the 2023 season. The original version of the penalty for the Next Gen era included an automatic four-race suspension for two crew members and the crew chief.
The updated version of the penalty has different punishments based on where the wheel came off the car.
If the wheel comes off the car on pit road under caution, the driver will restart at the rear of the field. If the wheel comes off on pit road under green flag conditions, the driver must serve a pass-through penalty.
If the wheel comes off the car beyond pit road, as it did at the Roval, it will be a two-lap penalty followed by a two-race suspension for two crew members.
The only other penalties from last weekend's race went to crew chiefs. Jim Pohlman of JR Motorsports, Phillip Bell of JR Motorsports, Jeff Meendering of Joe Gibbs Racing, and Andy Street of Richard Childress Racing all received $5,000 fines for loose lug nuts after the race.
