Chris Buescher Caught Completely Off-Guard With an Uncharacteristic End to His Las Vegas Dream

Chris Buescher encountered an unforeseen fate during the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His race day came to a conclusion when his wheel unexpectedly detached early in the race. Not only did Buescher’s race come to an end, but RFK Racing also faced a post-race penalty due to inadequate wheel securing by the pit crew.

Wheel detachments during races are nothing new, and definitely not for Chris Buescher. The mishap with the 31-year-old raised the caution flag for the third time on lap 27. Buescher talked about his elimination, expressing frustration on losing half the wheel.

The mid-race mishap came as a surprise to Chris Buescher

After the rim detached from the No. 17 Ford Mustang, Chris Buescher faced a dramatic turn of events. He collided with the Turn 1 wall, sustaining such significant damage that NASCAR officials had to work quickly to address the accident’s aftermath. Buescher expressed his displeasure about the lack of warning signs compared to the older five-lug system. In the past, vibrations would alert drivers when tire-related issues were about to occur. Unfortunately, in these recent incidents, there were no such cues, catching him off guard.

Buescher said, “No nothing, nothing that says that was coming. Kind of been the case with uh really, with this car. Probably had three of these now through the last couple years and um, haven’t had a warning on any of them.” He added, “So nothing like the old five lug stuff where you get a vibration or shimmy or have some kind of clue. It just happens all of a sudden, so very very unfortunate, they’re very tough.”

Buescher, who is not necessarily angry at his team, said, “We have a great group of people on our team right now and we are gonna bounce back from this and get going in the right direction.” He continued, “That just hurts, just so early we were able to move forward. Out of their two tires and it’s doing okay, you know holding our own against four tires around us and just ended up way earlier than we wanted to, needed to.” 

Read More: Red Flags at Vegas as Chris Buescher’s Hard-Hit Wreckout Forces NASCAR to Weld SAFER Barriers

NASCAR’s stringent measures against RFK Racing

During the Las Vegas race, Buescher’s collision with the wall triggered the third caution, leading to the first red flag. As other racers parked on the backstretch for repairs, Chris Buescher faced a premature end. This also marked his first DNF since Atlanta in 2023. Before the 2024 Pennzoil 400, Chris Buescher had a record of having 33 consecutive races without a DNF.

In response to the negligence of the pit crew, NASCAR imposed strict penalties. The crew members were suspended for two weeks due to their actions, which triggered the red flag and posed a safety risk to the entire field.