While Denny Hamlin evaded severe punishment last week over his insensitive tweet about Kyle Larson, it appears that his team is going to receive a significant punishment this week.
During Monday’s resumed DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover, a wheel came flying off Hamlin’s car as he pulled out of a pitstop. That kind of issue is almost certain to trigger a four-race suspension for crew chief Chris Gabehart, as well as for the tire changer and the jackman involved with that wheel.
Yeah … that's a BIG penalty for the No. 11 team … 👀👀 https://t.co/G5xBAAyPFf pic.twitter.com/MQ6Ujg2ZF7
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 2, 2022
That same punishment was handed down the previous week to BJ McLeod’s No. 78 car crew after he lost a wheel at Talladega Superspeedway.
This specific situation is a violation of Section 10.5.2.6 in the NASCAR Rule Book, which states: “Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire(s)/wheel(s) from the vehicle will result in a four Race suspension of the crew chief and two additional team members.”
#NASCAR … Denny Hamlin loses left front tire exiting pit road. He entered as the leader and exited first.
Wheel coming off is a 4-race suspension for crew chief, tire changer & the crew member who put tire on.
That would mean they would miss Darlington, Kansas, All-Star & 600
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) May 2, 2022
NASCAR implemented the rule and punishment a few years back over safety concerns, given that a loose tire on the track could cause serious issues to the passing cars, not to mention the car that loses the tire. While some feel as though the punishment is a bit excessive, there were plenty of NASCAR fans chiming in to note that at least Denny beat his own tire in the race today.
"Here's a look at the Ram Race off pit-road"
1.) Denny Hamlin
2.) Denny Hamlin's tire https://t.co/XPT9k56iNc
— Michael Carey (@ItsMichaelCarey) May 2, 2022
Denny Hamlin beats Denny Hamlin’s LF tire off of pit road on lap 124 at Dover. pic.twitter.com/PFt0yYLc3N
— Justin Melillo (@justinmelillo) May 2, 2022
Denny Hamlin wins the race off pit road with 4 tires.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) May 2, 2022
I did not just see a tire racing Denny Hamlin off pit road. Nah. I refuse to believe that
— Millad Radman (@RealRadman) May 2, 2022
Good news for @dennyhamlin as he wins the race off pit road. Bad news … his LF tire was second. 😬 pic.twitter.com/rva5aaCaft
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) May 2, 2022
Hamlin’s crew can expect to hear the bad news in the next day or so. Maybe next week will be better for Denny.
Dover loves Denny pic.twitter.com/Rt9LUWApGV
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 1, 2022
