Kyle Busch loses crew chief to suspension for rest of 2022 season
Ben Beshore will be suspended until Busch Clash 2023 after losing a wheel in Las Vegas
NASCAR announced Tuesday that Ben Beshore, team principal of Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 18 team,
has been suspended for the next four races after his car lost a wheel after a late pit stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The suspension also extends to pit crew members Derrell Edwards and Miachel Hicks.
After a pit stop on lap 230, the front left wheel of Kyle Busch's car was not installed correctly, and the tire started to stick and rub against the left front fender.
The wheel clung to Busch's car for half a lap before finally rolling backwards,
coming to a stop against the inside wall as Busch drove back to the pits to put on another left front tire.
Busch eventually recovered to finish third.
The suspension means Busch will lose his team principal for the rest of the 2022 season when he ends his tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing before moving to Richard Childress Racing.
This also means that Team Number 18 will not have its leader once the next season begins, as Beshore's suspension will extend until the 2023 Busch Clash in L.A. Coliseum.
Beshore will be eligible to return for the 2023 Daytona 500 with a new driver – widely expected to be Ty Gibbs – yet to be determined.
Beshore's suspension was overshadowed in Tuesday's penalty report, which saw NASCAR opt to park Bubba Wallace for a race after
he intentionally hooked Kyle Larson to the outside wall and into the path of traffic last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. . Other items in the penalty report are as follows:
Jeremy Clements Racing received a level L1 penalty for illegally modifying his car's composite flange bodywork.
Team boss Mark Setzer was fined $25,000 and suspended for this weekend's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami,
while Clements and his team received 40 driver and owner points.
Chris Gayle, Team Principal of Joe Gibbs Racing's #54 Xfinity Team and racer Ty Gibbs, was fined $5,000 for leaving a nut loose on one of Gibbs' wheels.
Andrew Abbott, team principal of Young Motorsports team number 20 in the Camping World Truck Series,
has been reinstated and is now qualified to return for this weekend's truck race at Homestead.
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