Hamlin’s crew faces 4-race ban

NASCAR on Monday suspended three critical crew members for Denny Hamlin’s team because a piece of tungsten fell off his car on the pace lap before the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C.

The tungsten is required to meet minimum weight requirements on the car and the NASCAR rule book states if it is separated at any point, it is an automatic four-race suspension for the crew chief, car chief and engineer.

Chris Gabehart, the crew chief, was suspended along with car chief Brandon Griffeth and engineer Scott Simmons.

Joe Gibbs Racing said it would not appeal the penalty and already had roster replacements for Wednesday night’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sam McAulay will be the crew chief, while Eric Phillips will be car chief and Scott Eldridge the engineer.