money Tungsten mishap means Denny Hamlin's chances at Coke 600 win disappear before the race even begins
Starting a 400-lap, 600-mile race seven laps down is bad. Just ask Denny Hamlin.
A piece of tungsten fell off Hamlin’s car during the pace laps before Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600. And by the time Hamlin’s crew had a chance to get it back on his car, the field had already completed seven laps.
Hamlin won Wednesday night’s race at Darlington with the help of a little bit of luck. He had to stay out on the track during the final caution flag of the race because he didn’t have any fresh tires left in his pit stall. After Kyle Busch turned Chase Elliott into the wall as the two were racing for second behind Hamlin and caused another caution, rain ended the race 20 laps early.
He’s going to need more than a lot of luck to win Sunday night. And for his crew chief Chris Gabehart to avoid a suspension.
According to NASCAR’s rulebook, Gabehart could face a four-race suspension for the tungsten flying off the car. The tungsten is added to cars to weigh them down to make minimum weight. And since it’s heavy, a flying piece of tungsten off a car can do serious damage.
That’s why NASCAR takes flying tungsten penalties seriously. If Gabehart is suspended, we’ll likely find out Monday or Tuesday. The NASCAR Cup Series races again Wednesday night at Charlotte.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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