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Two Larson crew members suspended for lost wheel at COTA
Kyle Larson will be without two of his Hendrick Motorsports pit crew members due to suspensions from the right-front wheel that came off Larson’s car Sunday at Circuit of The Americas.
Brandon Johnson, the jackman, and Blaine Anderson, the front tire changer, have been suspended through the next two Cup Series events at Phoenix Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. They will be able to rejoin the No. 5 team beginning at Homestead-Miami Speedway (March 23).
The wheel detached from Larson’s car on lap 44 after he had made a pit stop. The suspension followed the in-race penalty where Larson was held for two laps. He finished 32nd in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.
NASCAR tweaked its penalty outline for detached wheels before the 2023 season. If a wheel comes off while a car is on pit road under the yellow flag, the driver will restart the race at the tail end of the field. If the wheel comes off while a car is on pit road under green flag conditions, the driver must serve a pass-through penalty. And lastly, if the wheel comes off while beyond pit road, it will be a two-lap penalty for the team and a two-race suspension for two crew members.
Larson’s penalty fell into the latter category.
On the crew rosters for this weekend’s event at Phoenix, Eric Ludwig will serve as Larson’s jackman and Jafar Hall will be the tire changer. Ludwig and Hall will come from the No. 7 car of Justin Haley. Hendrick Motorsports supplies pit crews to Spire Motorsports.
Kelly Crandall
Kelly has been on the NASCAR beat full-time since 2013, and joined RACER as chief NASCAR writer in 2017. Her work has also appeared in NASCAR.com, the NASCAR Illustrated magazine, and NBC Sports. A corporate communications graduate from Central Penn College, Crandall is a two-time George Cunningham Writer of the Year recipient from the National Motorsports Press Association.
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