Teams will be allowed to make limited changes to the brakes
NASCAR will allow teams to change front brake pads and rotors following practice and qualifying on Saturday.
We’ve seen several braking issues or complete failures at Nashville, Iowa New Hampshire and Gateway. All of these tracks run the short track package. In many cases, the failures resulted in heavy impacts with the wall.
Hamlin threatened NASCAR saying he wasn’t going to start the race at Iowa Speedway after they wouldn’t allow him to make a change to his brake system before the green flag. The driver noted that it was a safety issue.
NASCAR rebutted saying that if he did that, the penalty would be much larger than just coming in during the race to make the change.
Denny Hamlin says NASCAR was going to make up a penalty for him
Here’s the memo issued to the team by NASCAR:
“At Phoenix Raceway, Teams will be given the option to remove and replace Front Brake Rotors and Pads only, following Practice/Qualifying on Saturday. No other brake system components are permitted to be changed during this process.”
“Note: Teams will be permitted to inspect rear rotors, per normal procedures, during the pre-race adjustments period on Sunday. Any subsequent rotor issues found at that time will managed on a case-by-case basis.”
NASCAR TV Schedule: Phoenix Raceway (October 2026)
