After Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Las Vegas, the biggest story was Josh Berry securing his first-ever Cup Series win with the historic Wood Brothers Racing team, an especially significant achievement during the team’s 75th anniversary.
Another major topic from the race was the issue of loose wheels.
Chase Briscoe was the first driver affected, followed by Kyle Busch, with both drivers serving two-lap penalties. Christopher Bell also encountered a loose wheel, but his crew chief, Adam Stevens, quickly guided him to Briscoe’s pit box to have the issue fixed.
Bell was penalized for stopping outside his designated pit box but only had to restart at the back of the field—far less severe than the two-lap penalty and suspension faced by the crew members of Busch’s and Briscoe’s teams.
On Tuesday, NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to discuss the loose-wheel incidents and addressed comments from Rodney Childers, who suggested wheel weights might be coming off.
Moran acknowledged discussions with teams, noting that while loose wheels haven’t been a major issue in recent seasons, there seems to be a recurring problem now. He mentioned that while wheel weights were involved in one case, the primary concern likely comes from teams pushing pit stop timing to the limit.
Former championship-winning tire changer Jeff Cordero, now working with William Byron’s team, agreed.
He pointed out that the Las Vegas race was the first event this season where pit stops played a major role, allowing crews to showcase their speed after months of offseason training. Since teams knew that slow stops meant losing positions, they pushed the limits of their performance.
