NASCAR announced Wednesday that Live Fast Motorsports crew chief Lee Leslie and two crewmembers have been suspended for the next four Cup Series races after their car had an improperly-installed wheel fall off midway through last Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway. The suspension stemmed from an incident involving the team's No. 78 Ford and driver B.J. McLeod.
On Lap 87, McLeod was just coming up to speed on a restart when his right rear wheel came loose, sending him for a single-car spin in Turn 2 before the wheel separated from the car completely. McLeod suffered suspension damage after having to drive his car back to the pits on three wheels, and he would go on to finish 16 laps down in 26th.
Rear tire changer Kevin Teaf and jackman Alpha Lamin have been suspended alongside Leslie. The trio's suspension will include upcoming races at Dover Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Kansas Speedway, and the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. They will next be eligible to participate in a Cup Series race at next month's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Live Fast Motorsports is the latest team to be issued a suspension for having a wheel fall off this season, joining The Money Team Racing's No. 50, Kaulig Racing's No. 31, Front Row Motorsports' No. 38, Spire Motorsports' No. 7, and 23XI Racing's No. 23. The team's No. 78 has been driven primarily by team co-owner and NASCAR journeyman B.J. McLeod, with Andy Lally and Josh Williams having driven a race each.
Live Fast's No. 78 team was the only one to be included on NASCAR's post-Talladega penalty report. In related news, the NASCAR-sanctioned ARCA Menards Series indefinitely suspended driver Daniel Dye on Wednesday after he was arrested on a felony assault charge following an incident with a classmate at a Florida high school. Dye had ranked second in the series standings after three races.
