NASCAR officials issued penalties Tuesday to the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team for a lug-nut infraction discovered after Sunday’s Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway.
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Martin Truex Jr. drove the No. 19 to a 22nd-place finish in Sunday’s Ally 400, the Cup Series’ first event at the 1.33-mile Tennessee track. But his car was found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check, a violation of Section 10.9.10.4 (Tires and Wheels) in the NASCAR Rule Book. No. 19 crew chief James Small was fined $10,000.
No further penalties were announced for the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team of defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. Five of the car’s 20 lug nuts were found unsecured in post-race inspection, and Elliott and the team were disqualified, dropping them to last place in the 39-car field.
In the Xfinity Series, the race-winning Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Toyota was also found with a single lug unsecured after Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250. Crew chief Chris Gayle was fined $5,000 for the safety violation. Kyle Busch drove the No. 54 to the 100th victory of his Xfinity Series career.
No Tuesday penalties stemmed from last weekend’s race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Nashville.