Following last weekend’s NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas, there were a lot of pit road mishaps in the form of loose wheels. Of course that only meant one thing, penalties for the offending parties and suspensions. However, another punishment nearly flew under the radar, and the offending party was Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.
As it happened, one of the team members from RFK Racing was busted for substance abuse. Admittedly, the details are still very hazy and no one is sure if the substances were performance-enhancing or recreational. Nevertheless, the team member has been suspended until further notice at least till the investigation is complete.
In light of the situation, some did find it surprising that NASCAR has not been providing too many updates. After all, this is a serious offence and if found guilty then they should be appropriately punished. There is also the response of the RFK Racing team, who will undoubtedly launch their own investigation into the matter. Recently, Barstool Sports discussed the various NASCAR penalties including this one for RFK Racing.
There was an air of mystery around these NASCAR suspensions
Large from Rubbin’ is Racing stated, “I don’t hear a lot about this, so I’ll bring it up right now. The penalties were recorded on Wednesday, penalties, fines and suspensions were out from Vegas. NASCAR has also issued suspensions to two crew members for violations of the substance abuse policy. These two guys were suspended indefinitely. One’s a rear tire changer for RFK Racing, and the other guy works as a jackman in the Xfinity Series and Truck Series. No reason to put these guys on blast on the show.”
NASCAR has a strict policy against substance use in the sport and the policy to tackle this serious issue was launched in the 1980s. Aaron Fike, a Truck Series driver was caught with the possession of heroin and the driver admitted to using it on race weekends. NASCAR dropped the hammer on him and suspended him until 2012. It was only after Fike underwent NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program he was allowed to race.
One of the big names that was mired in substance abuse policy was A.J. Allmendinger. He tested positive for Adderall which he said he didn’t know about. Like Fike, Allmendinger also underwent the RTR program and was cleared by the sanctioning body to race by the end of the year. There’s very little information on how NASCAR deals with substance abuse and Large was trying to find more information about the crew members suspended after Vegas weekend.
“I kind of Googled around this and I wasn’t able to find out what the infractions were for. NASCAR’s official policy is, prohibits the misuse of alcohol, prescription drugs, any other substance used in a manner that affects safety or impacts the integrity of the competition. Including but not limited to performance-enhancing substances. All NASCAR members are responsible for whatever goes into their body.” Large added.
LOUDON, NH – APRIL 25: Brad Keselowski ( 6 RFK Racing Ford) during Goodyear tire testing for the Crayon 301 on April 25, 2023, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Malcolm Hope/Icon Sportswire) AUTO: APR 25 NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Goodyear Tire Test at NHMS EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon230425004
Frankly, the penalties to the RCR and JGR teams were appropriate, as they got hauled up for loose wheels. However, the punishment for substance abuse was very murky. As per NASCAR policy, drivers and team members will be punished if they breach regulations regarding alcohol, recreational and performance-enhancing substances.
Although NASCAR has remained tight-lipped on the suspension of the crew members, they have acknowledged the loose tire issues.
NASCAR looking to find a solution to loose wheels on the Next Gen car
A total of three teams would’ve been handed penalties after the Las Vegas race. Christopher Bell and the No. 20 team played it smart and secured a loose wheel by pitting in Chase Brisoce’s pit box before heading on the racetrack. As it turns out, this has become a pattern as Kyle Larson also had loose wheel trouble during the race at COTA, and given that NASCAR has a history with single nut problems, this issue needs to be resolved.
The race in Vegas was the first where pit crews were put under pressure, and chasing the 8-10 second window they are playing a tricky game. Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran addressed these concerns while speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR. While he did acknowledge that the sanctioning body is keeping a close watch on the streak of loose wheel incidents, he delivered a cryptic message to the teams as well.
“We certainly don’t like it. It goes back a couple of years to 2022 when we were having some issues. But we worked together as an industry and we got on top of that. And for whatever reason, it appears that we’ve got something going on. I’ve been discussing it with a lot of the crew chiefs and managers… I think it’s about time as well and timing and trying to get as much done as you can in the shortest period of time. Again, you push it to the limit and unfortunately, if that car hits the ground before that nut’s tight, we’ve had this problem.”
It will be interesting to see what steps NASCAR takes to tackle the loose wheel problem and if the team are more cautious about their work on the pit road.
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