NASCAR Truck Drivers Suffering Penalties Owing to Supplier Issues

Last weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Zane Smith got disqualified. As it turned out, a post-race inspection revealed that his truck’s lug nuts did not comply with the NASCAR regulations. Owing to that, he lost his fine second place and got relegated to dead last. Obviously, his team appealed the decision, but the National Motorsports Appeals panel upheld the penalty.

Smith wrote on Twitter, “Tough pill to swallow for my team. From a supply issue of legal lug nuts that will get you a DQ after coming from the back twice to finish 2nd and not getting any credit for it sucks. Nothing will feel better than getting a win Atlanta Motor Speedway next week. Focusing forward. Left is illegal right is legal. 2/3 threads missing. Most people before supply issue would use them to have faster pit stops but most of our stops were fixing damage that were over 20 second stops.”

What is the whole row about the NASCAR trucks’ lug nuts?

According to Smith, the appeal insists that the Front Row Motorsports team did not modify the lug nuts. Instead, those non-compliant lug nuts were bought straight from the supplier. Admittedly, NASCAR has every right to be suspicious, as teams have a history of removing threads.

In response to this, fellow team owner Sam Hunt said, “Our new box of stock lugs purchased for Vegas were all illegal/shaved down. It’s an issue. Having our pit crew sort through every single lug before glueing onto wheel in pit box. Hard to find legal lugs. Not NASCAR’s fault bc rule is a rule – but need a solution from supplier.”

Hopefully, NASCAR is able to find a solution to this problem. Otherwise, many teams and drivers will suffer because of it. For that to happen, the sport needs to find a trusted source for car parts. This way, no team will be caught out due to the suppliers’ errors.

DIVE DEEPER