NASCAR suspends Kyle Busch’s crew chief, tire changer for violating lug nut rule

Kyle Busch will be without his crew chief and front tire changer for one race as NASCAR suspended both Wednesday after Busch’s No. 18 team violated NASCAR’s revised lug nut policy.

Crew chief Adam Stevens and tire changer Josh Leslie will both sit out Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway, with Stevens also fined $20,000. The penalties are a result of NASCAR determining the maximum five lug nuts were not properly secured (all were on the wheel, though not tightened) to Busch’s car following Saturday night’s race at Kansas Speedway, an event Busch won.

JGR chose not to appeal penalties, issuing a statement Wednesday night that Stevens and Leslie would sit out at Dover.

“Joe Gibbs Racing announces today it will not appeal the penalty issued by NASCAR earlier this afternoon to its No. 18 team,” JGR said. “The 18 team utilized unaltered stock lug nuts during Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway and each wheel had all five lug nuts attached to the wheel at the conclusion of the race. The team does acknowledge that not all lug nuts were tightened to the wheel.”

The sanctions are the first since NASCAR begin requiring teams last month to secure all five lug nuts every time a car leaves pit road. Previously teams were left up to its own discretion on how many lug nuts were needed to fasten a wheel, a rule that went into effect prior to the 2015 season.

But the application of lug nuts became a hot-button issue through the early portion of the current season with several instances of loose wheels brought about by less than five lug nuts used. Several drivers viewed it as a safety risk, most notably Tony Stewart, whose pointed remarks calling for a procedural change earned the owner-driver a $35,000 fine.