Las Vegas it is, and drivers have already started gambling. While some might’ve dodged trouble, Chris Buescher’s ride just couldn’t hack it. Leading the pack at the restart, Buescher slammed into the wall, bringing out the caution flag for the third time on lap 27. A wheel nut from the right front flew off Buescher’s car, sending him crashing hard into the outside wall.

The wild part? Buescher hit the wall so hard that NASCAR had to step in and fix it up. It sent the race under a red flag while the NASCAR crew got down to business fixing that spot.

Chris Buescher’s race concluded but temporarily stopped the entire race

As it turns out, NASCAR’s initial game plan was to have the welding truck snug up against the wall for a quick mend, aiming to keep the race under a yellow for a speedy fix. But when the truck showed up, it turned out it needed to park on the apron, which meant more time was needed. Rather than drag out the caution, they decided to stop everything with a red flag.

Nine minutes into the caution, NASCAR decided it was time to stop the race with a red flag because the outside wall needed some fixing up. The action picked back up with 45 laps left in Stage 1, and Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson quickly pulled ahead of the crowd, snagging the first and second spots.

As for Buescher, his race ended way sooner than he hoped, marking the first DNF of the day. He was aiming for a much better outcome but had to bow out in Stage 1 after just 32 laps.

“Trying to break it down but lost the nut, lost half the wheel. Not exactly sure just yet but it looks like the nut came off but something in the suspension actually cut the wheel in half. … We’re going to be contenders; we’re going to win some races, but it’s not going to happen today,” Buescher explained to PRN Live.

The caution for Chris Buescher threw the whole fuel strategy for the end of the stage right out the window, and pretty much everyone hit the pit road for new tires as soon as it opened up. Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch went for just two tires and beat everyone else out of the pits. Meanwhile, Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell, John Hunter Nemechek, and J.J. Yeley decided to roll the dice and stayed out during the caution.

However, it’s going to be a hard one for Buscher and Co. They are apparently going to receive a penalty from NASCAR.

NASCAR’s about to crack down on RFK Racing

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Bob Pockrass just shared that because of that wheel popping off, Chris Buescher’s crew is looking at a penalty from NASCAR—two of the crew are getting benched for a couple of races, according to NASCAR’s call on who. Back before 2022, if a wheel bailed during a race, the crew chief and two of the pit crew would be sitting out for four races. But NASCAR decided to switch things up after the 2022 season.

In 2023, they dialed it back, so only two crew members would get suspended for two races. And the crew chief? They were taken off the hook unless they had a hand in the tire that took off. The suspensions target whoever was directly responsible for the wheel mishap. This tweak meant the crew chief got to breathe a bit easier. The rule actually applied across the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck series.

Chris Buescher’s Vegas Run Cut Short as RFK Racing’s Pit-Road Muck-Up Robs Sin City Hopes

Additionally, for those pit crew members who juggle duties across different series, the suspension sticks to just the series where the oops happened. So, if someone gets the boot for two races in the Xfinity Series, they can still be in on the action for the Cup race the next day. Also, if a wheel decides to part ways while the car’s still on pit road, that car gets sent to the back of the line. And if this happens under a green flag, they have to do a pass-thru penalty. But if a car loses a wheel after leaving pit road, it’s a two-lap penalty.