Sport
Chase Elliott was disqualified from the Nashville race for having loose lug nuts on his car
Chase Elliott was on his way to a strong finish in Sunday’s Cup Series race in Nashville. Then the wheels almost fell off.
That cost him big time after the race.
Elliott was disqualified after NASCAR inspectors discovered five loose lug nuts on the No. 9 car. It’s unclear how many tires were impacted. He was demoted from 13th to last, which was 39th on Sunday. All but one of the points he gained in the race were lost by the reigning Cup Series champion.
The fact that Elliott won Stage 1 increased the severity of the penalty. He was penalized 10 bonus points and one playoff point for winning the stage. Kurt Busch, the runner-up in Stage 1, received those points.
During the final laps, Elliott radioed his team that he felt a vibration, but the team chose to leave Elliott on the track rather than pit.
“The lug nuts on the No. 9 were loose at the end of the race. At the end of the race Chase had a vibration,” Chad Knaus, vice president of competition for Hendrick Motorsports, said in a statement (per Jayski.com). “There were quite a few tire issues through the course of the day so they were hopeful that it was just a cord or something in the tire that was creating the vibration so they chose to run the race out. It’s unfortunate that the lug nuts vibrated loose on the left rear and now we are sitting here with a disqualification for the 9 team.”
Elliott afterwards asked on Twitter how many points he would have earned if a wheel had come off during the race and the 9 car had wrecked.
NASCAR will decide what other penalties the 9 crew will face. According to NASCAR.com, the punishment for repeated loose lug nuts is usually a fine and punishment of the crew chief. Elliott’s crew chief is Alan Gustafson.
Kyle Larson, Elliott’s teammate, won the race, his fourth in a row if the All-Star Race is included. William Byron finished third, and Alex Bowman finished 14th for Hendrick Motorsports.
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