After crashing out in the closing stages of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas, things took a turn for the worse for Kyle Larson. NASCAR handed out several penalties to crew members across all of its national touring competitions and suspended three people who work for the #5 Hendrick Motorsports team, including Yung Money’s fueler.

However, Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie, facing a harsh season as he sits in 29th place with 120 points in the Cup Series standings, lent a helping hand to the former Cup Series champion.

Kyle Larson is set to get a new fueler for the Talladega race

Hendrick Motorsports and Spire Motorsports are both Chevrolet teams and they often look out for one another in times of need. NASCAR suspended Brandon Harder, who works as a fueler for the #9 JR Motorsports team and the #5 Hendrick Motorsports team for violating safety sections 14.3.1.2 A, B & D. It pertains to the crew wearing an SFI-approved protective clothing and other equipment. Harder’s crime was that he wore an unapproved safety apron. He will be replaced by Corey LaJoie’s fueler, Matt Lehman.

There were other changes in crews as well to cover the positions of those suspended for the Talladega race. Veteran journalist Bob Pockrass provided the update on his official X handle. Chris Buescher‘s tire carrier, Zach Yager, will be replaced by JaQuan Bailey, who is a part of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Stage 60 project.

Christopher Bell‘s situation is most interesting, as his tire carrier, Jake Holmes, will be replaced by Matt Hermanson, who works for Michael McDowell. What’s intriguing is that the Toyota racer will be getting a temporary crew member from a Ford team.

As far as Kyle Larson is concerned, his crew’s fueler position seems to be covered for the Talladega race. However, his crew will still probably be incomplete going into the race weekend.

Will the #5 Hendrick Motorsports crew perform without its regular members?

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Brandon Harder is not the only person who was suspended from the #5 Hendrick Motorsports team. Two more drivers were given the boot by NASCAR, and that too for two race weekends. These are Calvin Teague and Brandon Johnson. The crew members were found to violate safety sections 8.8.10.4.C, which pertain to an improperly installed wheel. Kyle Larson lost one of his rear wheels during the Cup Series race at Texas under caution. Teague is the team’s rear tire changer, and Johnson is the jackman.

Without its regular members, it will be interesting to see how long the pitstops take for the #5 car at the Talladega Superspeedway. After last week’s race, Kyle Larson will be looking for a strong comeback. So the last thing he wants is for his race to be ruined due to an error on pit road by his crew. It’s going to be interesting to see them in action.

Do you think the #5 crew will be able to perform up to their high standards on Sunday? Let us know your thoughts.