February 23, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

No penalties for Penske, RFK for altered wheels at Daytona

Neither Team Penske nor Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing will suffer penalties for altering the size of drive pin bores on wheels provided to the NASCAR Cup Series teams for the past week’s races at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR said on Wednesday.

The sanctioning body confiscated wheels from both organizations on Friday morning after the running of the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday night.

Team owner Roger Penske acknowledged the modifications and explained the team’s rationale after one of his drivers, Austin Cindric, won the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

“I think that we had contacted NASCAR a week before and said that the wheels we were getting were not all the same, and we felt we needed to modify the holes where the drive pins go,” Penske said.

“We didn’t really get any feedback, and at that point, we went ahead and opened the holes up.”

Along with a penalty report that did not include any sanctions on Team Penske or RFK Racing, NASCAR issued the following statement:

“NASCAR met with Next Gen suppliers and several race teams this week to discuss wheel specifications. Following that discussion, NASCAR made small adjustments to increase the upper tolerance on pin and pilot bores for Fontana (Sunday’s Wise Power 400). NASCAR will reevaluate with suppliers and race teams and determine a path forward following this weekend’s race.”

Two organizations, Kaulig Racing and The Money Team, were penalized for wheels that separated from their Next Gen race cars in violation of rule 10.5.2.6—“Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle.” Kaz Grala's wheel came loose from the No. 50 TMT Chevrolet on Lap 41 of the Daytona 500. Justin Haley experienced wheel issues 12 laps later on the No. 31 Chevrolet.

Crew chief Trent Owens and crew members Jacob Nelson and Marshall McFadden of Kaulig’s No. 31 team drew four-race suspensions, as did crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and crew members Chris Zima and Aaron Powell of the No. 50 The Money Team.