NASCAR Penalizes 6 Teams After Nashville Weekend

Getty NASCAR has issued penalties after the trip to Nashville Superspeedway.

Two of the national NASCAR series are about to head to Wisconsin for a weekend at Road America. Prior to the trip, however, they learned of some penalties issued by the sanctioning body after the race at Nashville Superspeedway.

NASCAR issued its weekly penalty report on June 28. The No. 17 team of RFK Racing headlined the list as Crew Chief Scott Graves, jackman Matthew Wilps, and rear-tire changer Seth Gajdorus all received four-race suspensions due to a violation of Sections 10.5.2.6 in the NASCAR Rule Book. The Ford Mustang lost a wheel during the trip to Nashville.

RFK Racing will have replacement crew members for the trips to Road America on July 3, Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 10, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17, and Pocono Raceway on July 24. Though Graves can still remain in contact with the team while he serves his four-race suspension.

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Multiple Teams Received Penalties for Another Issue

GettyMultiple Xfinity Series teams received fines after the Nashville Superspeedway race.

The four-race suspensions were the harshest penalties issued on June 28. Other teams simply faced monetary fines for issues found during Xfinity Series post-race inspection at Nashville Superspeedway.

The No. 6 of Ryan Vargas (JD Motorsports with Gary Keller), the No. 10 of Landon Cassill (Kaulig Racing), the No. 31 of Myatt Snider (Jordan Anderson Racing), and the No. 44 of Ryan Ellis (Alpha Prime Racing) each had one loose lugnut. The crew chiefs for these respective teams each received a $5,000 fine.

The final penalty issued on June 28 went to a member of a Truck Series team. Tony Waters, a hauler driver for the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports team, received an indefinite suspension after violating Sections 4.1 and 10.1 of the NASCAR Rule Book. He specifically violated NASCAR’s Substance Abuse Policy.

According to NASCAR’s roster portal, Waters was the hauler driver for the SpeedyCash.com 200 at Texas Motor Speedway. The team then turned to other hauler drivers for the races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, World Wide Technology Raceway, and the other events leading up to the off-week.

Buescher Has Ground To Make Up at Road America

GettyChris Buescher finished 18th overall in his first Cup Series race at Road America.

Losing a crew chief and two key members of the team is not ideal for Buescher. He will have to work with a new group while trying to gain crucial points and punch his ticket to the playoffs with a win.

Buescher is currently 22nd in points, which puts him in essentially a must-win situation as he sits behind Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, and Erik Jones. He has come close during the 2022 season with four top-10 finishes and a runner-up behind Daniel Suarez at Sonoma Raceway. Now he will try to win at a different road course.

Buescher’s last trip to the Wisconsin road course was not the strongest of his 2021 campaign. He finished 18th overall after originally qualifying 12th, but he was able to secure enough points to keep him hovering around the cutline and in contention for a playoff spot.

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