NASCAR reiterates specific pitting rules following Las Vegas controversy

NASCAR officials have issued a rule clarification on the incident involving Christopher Bell at the Las Vegas Motor speedway. Bell had pitted outside his designated pit box.

The NASCAR driver, on lap 108, discovered that his left front wheel was loosely put on at his designated pit stop. To tackle this issue, Bell pitted in his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe’s pit box and got his tire fixed before continuing the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR saw it as a penalty and moved Bell to the back of the field.

NASCAR issued a set of rule clarifications in light of this incident as reported by Jordan Bianchi on X. It states that if a driver is pitting in another team’s pit stall, then the driver will receive a penalty which puts him at the back of the track. If a driver does it for a competition adjustment, the driver will receive a penalty that may put him several laps down.

"NASCAR issues rules clarification that drivers are only allowed to pit in their specific pit stall unless it's a safety issue."

During the recent NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas, several teams faced significant penalties. Both Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe’s crews faced suspension after their wheels were detached during the race.

NASCAR issued a two-race suspension for the jackman and the rear tire changer from each team after improperly installed tires.

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Kevin Harvick on loophole in NASCAR's pit stop rules

Kevin Harvick brought attention to what he sees as a major loophole in NASCAR's pit stop rules, and questioned the fairness of the rule, suggesting it benefits larger teams with multiple entries, like Joe Gibbs Racing, while disadvantaging smaller, single-car teams that don't have the same luxury of readily available backup pit boxes. On his podcast, he said:

"It's within the rules. It's tail end of the longest line for pitting outside the box. But I didn't know that you could have another team actually pit your car and I don't know how I feel about it. I feel like it's better than the wheel falling off but what about the guy who only has one car? Is that fair to the guy that only has one car that doesn't have a teammate to stop in their box? Because I don't think it is... I can't wait to see where this goes because it's not fair but it is safer."

Harvick argued that the current rule, which allows teams to pit in a teammate's box under extenuating safety circumstances, creates an uneven playing field.