NASCAR Penalty Report: February 2022 (Daytona 500)

Daytona 500 penalties announced; Six suspended for multiple races

On Sunday, NASCAR concluded their biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500. The race opened up the regular season for the NASCAR Cup Series.

View the NASCAR penalty report from the Daytona 500 week below.

In Thursday’s Duel races, RFK Racing swept the night. Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski both took wins, locking out the second row in the Daytona 500.

On Friday, NASCAR announced they had confiscated wheels from both Team Penske as well as RFK Racing. At the time, additional details were not released. However, the teams were suspected of boring out the alignment holes on the wheels, likely to allow for easier installment and removal of the rims during pit stops.

Related: NASCAR confiscates wheels of Team Penske, RFK Racing

Wheels fall off in Daytona 500

In Sunday’s Daytona 500, just after a pit stop, we saw a wheel fly off the machine of Kaz Grala. That’s highly frowned upon in the rule book and generally brings a 4 race suspension for the crew chief.

The Daytona 500 was the first race we saw live pit stops with the new Next Gen car. The car features a single lug nut in the center of the wheel. When the lug is tightened, a locking pin engages which is suppose to prevent the lugnut from backing off. It’s likely that in this case, the lug was not fully tightened or the rim wasn’t flush when it was.

Moments later, Justin Haley suffered what looked like a broken rim. That could have also been due to improper installation.

Daytona NASCAR Penalties

After the Daytona 500, two teams have been penalized following wheel issues. Both the No. 31 Kaulig Racing machine, driven by Justin Haley, and the No. 50 The Money Team Racing machine, driven by Kaz Grala.

Team Penske and RFK Racing have not been penalized.

NASCAR has issued a 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. NASCAR will reevaluate with suppliers and race teams and determine a path forward following this weekend’s race.”


Daytona 500 Penalty Report
February 2022
NASCAR Cup Series

Driver: No. 31 Justin Haley

Violation Date: February 20, 2022

Sections: (10.5.2.6) Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle with the note: Loss of tire/wheel during the event.

Penalty: Crew chief Trent Owens and crew members Jacob Nelson (front changer) and Marshall McFadden (jackman) will miss the next four championship points events

No. 50 Kaz Grala

Violation Date: February 20, 2022

Sections: (10.5.2.6) Loss or separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle with the note: Loss of tire/wheel during the event.

Penalty: Crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and crew members Chris Zima (jackman) and Aaron Powell (rear changer) will miss the next four championship events.

Daytona Penalties
NASCAR Xfinity Series

No penalties announced.

Daytona Penalties
NASCAR Truck Series

No penalties announced.

Related: Daytona 500 results from February 20, 2022 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Related: Daytona 500 TV Ratings from February 2022 (NASCAR)

Daytona International Speedway | NASCAR

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