AJ Allmendinger loses points; Kyle Busch's Xfinity win 'encumbered'
AJ Allmendinger’s point total is far smaller than it was immediately after Sunday’s race at Atlanta.
NASCAR has penalized Allmendinger and his No. 47 team 35 points and suspended crew chief Randall Burnett for three races following a lug nut penalty after the race. NASCAR found that 17 of the 20 lug nuts on Allmendinger’s car were secure after the race.
The lug nut penalty is part of a revamped penalty structure for the offense. NASCAR changed the lug nut penalties after 2016 became the year of the lug nut following Tony Stewart’s comments about the equipment that helps fastens wheels to the wheel hubs of NASCAR cars. If a team has fewer than three lug nuts loose after a race a crew chief is not suspended for a first offense.
Allmendinger was 11th in the points standings with 50 points before the penalty. The 35-point penalty drops him to a tie for 35th with teammate Chris Buescher. Burnett has also been fined $65,000.
Kyle Busch won Saturday’s Xfinity race but his car was too low in the front after the race. The inspection failure means Busch’s win is “encumbered,” the first time the word has been used in practical application since it entered NASCAR lexicon.
Busch gets to keep the win, so he’s still the winner of Saturday’s race. But the win isn’t eligible to be used for bonus points by his No. 18 in the owner’s points playoff in the Xfinity Series. His crew chief Scott Graves has also been suspended for a race and fined $10,000.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
