NASCAR star set to be impacted by imminent race suspension

John Hunter Nemechek and his team are staring down the barrel of a NASCAR penalty after a potentially dangerous moment at Bristol on Sunday.

Nemechek started the season well with a career-best Cup Series finish of fifth at the Daytona 500 but has only seen his results decline since then, with a best finish of 20th (in Vegas) in his last five starts.

The 27-year-old didn't look in the mix to break back into the top five at the Last Great Colosseum, but still had his chances of breaking back into the top 20 dashed when his pit crew failed to attach a wheel correctly.

The Fox broadcast caught view of a lug nut rolling away in the car's rear camera as Nemechek exited his pit box, swiftly followed by a wheel careening down pit road unattached.

John Hunter Nemechek crew facing penalty

That wheel made its way to Daniel Suarez's pit box, where the #99 crew was working on his car and were surprised when 50+ lbs of wheel and tire slammed into the rear bumper and sprang into the air, with the gas man only avoiding potentially serious injury when the wheel hit off his gas can instead of his head and neck region.

Kevin Harvick in the announcing booth called the incident 'scary stuff', with Nemechek and the #42 penalized during the race.

John Hunter Nemechek's tire took off after his stop and ... that was CLOSE 😳

"Scary stuff right there."- @KevinHarvick pic.twitter.com/HcylPf1pZf

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 13, 2025

They're now likely to face further punishment from NASCAR, who have been clamping down hard on loose wheels amid a flurry of incidents.

This season has already seen some two-race bans handed out to jackmen and tyre changers for unsecured wheels, with Kyle Busch’s #8 team and Chase Briscoe’s #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crew both getting hit with the same punishment earlier in the year, with Shane van Gisbergen's #88 crew short-handed this weekend too.

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