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NASCAR Star Furious With 'Insane' Penalty In Las Vegas

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Mar 16, 2025 5:35 PM ET

Kyle Busch is reeling from an early penalty at the Pennzoil 400.

On Sunday, Busch dropped from fifth to 32nd after being penalized for speeding on pit road. The Richard Childress Racing driver apparently didn't agree with the call at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"That's insane," Busch said on the communication radio, per Sportsnaut's Matt Weaver. "I never saw a blue light down pit road. I'm on page 3."

Busch's team also disagreed with the call. Crew chief Randall Burnett and spotter Derek Kneeland said they reprimanded NASCAR officials for the delayed penalty call.

"The RCR 8 team is mad that NASCAR called that penalty so late and never gave them a chance to pit or even address it," Weaver said.

Shortly after the ruling, Busch inched up the leaderboard at 25th. However, his day soon got much worse.

After crashing into the wall on a sharp turn, the right rear wheel fell off Busch's Chevrolet.

"It's broke. It's done," Busch told his crew, via Steve Taranto of CBS Sports. "The brake pedal's done."

"Got no pedal at all?" a crew member asked.

"I've got some pedal, yeah," Busch responded. "But not standard, normal."

Following the incident, he took his car into the garage for further repairs to the brake line.

"Go to the stall, I guess," Busch said. "I'm not getting anything from them."

"Take it to the garage, Kyle," a team member responded.

Busch wasn't the only driver facing problems with a loose wheel at Vegas. Christopher Bell, seeking his fourth straight Cup Series victory, stopped in Chase Briscoe's stall to tighten a loose wheel. He received a penalty for pit stopping out of the box, but it would have been worse if the wheel fell off on the track.

Meanwhile, Briscoe also lost a tire on the 34th lap. He's fallen near the bottom of the pack at 34th.

Busch may not think much about the penalty after failing to finish Sunday's race. He had secured three straight top-10 finishes after opening the 2025 season 34th in the Daytona 500.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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