Larson crew members suspended following Sonoma wheel loss

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Cliff Daniels and two other members of his team have been suspended from the next four Cup Series races.

Daniels, Donnie Tasser and Brandon Johnson were penalized after the right-front wheel came off Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet Sunday afternoon at Sonoma Raceway. It happened following their pit stop with 28 laps to go, bringing out the race’s final caution.

Larson started from the pole, led 26 laps and was in contention for the race win until the wheel came off. He finished 15th.

The suspensions for Daniels, Tasser, and Johnson begin next weekend at Nashville Superspeedway where Larson is the defending race winner. The three will also miss the Cup Series races at Road America (July 3), Atlanta Motor Speedway (July 10), and New Hampshire Motor Speedway (July 17).

Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the penalty and interim personnel for Larson’s team will be determined at a later date.

Also on the penalty report is a loss of 20 points for the Rick Ware Racing No. 51 team because of their issues getting through inspection. Cody Ware’s car failed inspection four times at Sonoma, which kept him from making it on track for practice Saturday.

Ware was also not permitted to qualify and forced to start at the rear while also having his engineer ejected. Ware then had to serve a pass-through penalty at the start of the Toyota / Save Mart 350. He finished 32nd.