HAMPTON, Ga. -- Kyle Busch had a frustrating end to his Truck race Saturday night, and it could end up impacting Stewart-Haas Racing, which doesn't even compete in that series.
NASCAR will have judgment calls to make this week on whether Busch losing a wheel after leaving pit road would result in the suspension of SHR crew members who were moonlighting for Kyle Busch Motorsports at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The rules leave room for a NASCAR interpretation of the intent of the rule and suspensions. Busch's wheel fell off because the lug nuts were loosened before he left pit road, but the wheel that came off wasn't actually changed on the pit stop.
The rule for the Truck series states: "Any loss or separation of an improperly installed tire(s)/wheel(s) from the vehicle after exiting the team's assigned pit box will result in a three race suspension of the crew chief, tire changer of the lost wheel(s), and the jack man."
While Busch's crew chief, Marcus Richmond, is a KBM employee, he was using Clint Bowyer jackman Ernie Pierce and Kurt Busch tire changer Coleman Dollarhide.
Busch was leading the Atlanta Truck race when he pitted under caution prior to a two-lap overtime. His crew had trouble putting on the right front tire, and when it started changing the left-side tires, Richmond apparently called an audible not to change the left-side tires and told Busch to leave pit road.
The left rear lug nuts already had been loosened, and when Busch was told to stop after leaving the pits and attempted to drive in reverse to pit road, the wheel came off.
It is up to NASCAR to determine what is considered "improperly installed," and whether NASCAR would interpret it as a violation of the rule is still to be determined. The rule is designed to keep tire changers from hitting only three or four lug nuts instead of five -- there obviously is no time advantage to loosen lug nuts and not change a wheel. But having a wheel come off anywhere on the track is considered a major safety issue.
The rule was created in 2016 when NASCAR eliminated having an official at every pit box and went to a video-based officiating system. It stopped legislating how many lug nuts must be tight during a race, only checking them after the checkered flag. To discourage teams from leaving wheels loose, NASCAR implemented a severe penalty for the wheel coming off a vehicle after leaving pit road. In the NASCAR Cup Series, the suspension is four races.
When NASCAR suspended crew members last year because of the rule, the suspensions were for all NASCAR series. The rule book does give NASCAR the option to make it for only one series.
NASCAR wouldn't comment on any potential penalties as it reviews the circumstances and typically announces any decision Tuesday or Wednesday after the race weekend.
While not common, it is not rare for crew members to work for different organizations during a race weekend, especially if an organization isn't competing in the series.