NASCAR announced that three members of Ryan Blaney's No. 12 team, including crew chief Jonathan Hassler, will be suspended for the next four Cup Series races after an improperly installed wheel fell off of their car at Bristol. Blaney will now be without his crew chief for the rest Round of 12 of the NASCAR playoffs as well as almost all of the Round of 8 after an appeal of the penalties was dropped by Team Penske.
Midway through stage one at Bristol, Blaney was taken out of a spot at the front of the field when he was forced to come to pit road with a flat tire. After his pit stop, things got worse for Blaney when he drove out of his stall with a left rear wheel that had been left loose -- Blaney's crew attempted to alert him to the loose wheel, but too late as the left rear wheel fell off the car and rolled into Austin Dillon's pit stall, knocking down equipment and scattering crew members still working over the wall. Blaney would go on to finish 162 laps down in 30th after suffering suspension damage.
Team Penske appealed the penalty, allowing Hassler as well as rear tire changer Zachary Price and jack man Graham Stoddard to work on Blaney's car last weekend at Texas. Following a fourth place finish, Team Penske withdrew their appeal, meaning that Blaney will now be without Hassler & Co. from this weekend at Talladega until after the second race of the Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Team Penske engineer Miles Stanley is listed as Blaney's interim crew chief.
Big issues for Ryan Blaney.
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 18, 2022
He loses a wheel on pit road after pitting for a flat tire. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/r3pWYMqlMp
The prospect of Blaney losing multiple crewmembers comes at an enormously inconvenient time, as he was able to advance to the Round of 12 despite his issues at Bristol and is entering a stretch of tracks that could potentially offer him his first win of the 2022 season. Blaney won the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in May, and he has also previously won at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval.
Following his fourth place finish at Texas, Blaney is currently fourth in the playoff standings, 22 points above the cutoff line to advance to the Round of 8.
