NASCAR officials suspended a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing crew members for two races following a safety violation during last Saturday’s Cup Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway, where a wheel detached from Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota.
Hamlin’s right-front wheel became dislodged during the 384th of 500 laps in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race. His No. 11 car made contact with AJ Allmendinger’s No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, prompting the 13th of 14 yellow flags in the event. Race officials issued a two-lap penalty to Hamlin during the caution period, and he finished five laps down in 31st place.
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Competition officials completed the penalty process Tuesday with suspensions for the next two Cup Series races for two No. 11 crew members: Austin Maloney (front-tire changer) and Joel Bouagnon (jack). That penalty will span this weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, plus the following week’s race at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 28.
Hamlin, a five-time winner in the Cup Series this year, advanced out of the playoffs’ opening round by winning the Sept. 7 race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. He enters the re-seeded Round of 12 standings as the points leader, ranking 26 points above the cutline.
Hamlin is a three-time winner at New Hampshire, the site of Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
NASCAR officials also indicated that two Cup Series cars were all clear Tuesday after a further inspection at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina. Those entries were the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevy.
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