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Ryan Preece looked like a contender to win Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway until his right-rear wheel came off on Lap 225, drawing a two-lap penalty from NASCAR.
Preece: ‘That’s exactly what we cannot do’
Preece spun in Turn 2 when the wheel came off his No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. On the radio, he asked what happened, and crew chief Derrick Finley told him the brake caliper had cut the wheel in half.
“That’s f****** great,” Preece said. “That’s exactly what we cannot f****** do.”
https://x.com/Jordan_Bianchi/status/2116994424932536723
Why it was a penalty
NASCAR treats a wheel that comes off away from pit road as a loose-wheel safety violation, even when the wheel is damaged by the brake caliper. The penalty is two laps, and the rule also calls for two crew members to be suspended. NASCAR usually announces those suspensions in its weekly penalty report.
Shane van Gisbergen got the free pass under the caution.
Preece’s strong start
Preece was fastest in Saturday’s practice and started sixth, as Pit This Time reported.
Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin led early before Ty Gibbs took over on Lap 3. Hamlin got the lead back on Lap 45. Preece moved up to second and passed Hamlin for the lead on Lap 84 when Hamlin got stuck behind lapped traffic.
Preece built a lead of more than seven seconds, but William Byron, on fresher tires, caught him and took the lead with six laps left in Stage 1. Preece finished third in the stage.
Byron went on to lead 362 of the 500 laps and win the race.
A frustrating fall for RFK
Preece is out of title contention. He and RFK teammates Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski broke away from the field in Stage 1 at Talladega last month, as Pit This Time reported.
The season ends Sunday, November 8, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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