Kenseth crew chief: Teams took former lug nut policy "to the limit"

“This all started when we had the new officiating system on pit road at the beginning of last year. It took a lot of officials off pit road – for many reasons,” said Ratcliff, who spoke with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio host Claire B. Lang Thursday night on her show, “Dialed In.”

“It reduced the number of people on pit road, which is a safety factor, but because of the new technology, they were able to look at things differently then they had in the past. So, it took away a set of eyes on the pit box.”

That lack of an official in each pit box cracked the door enough for teams to begin pushing the boundaries of NASCAR’s tolerance.

“Just like everything else, we tried to take it to the limit,” Ratcliff said. “So now there was some talk that this is a safety issue, so now (NASCAR) is addressing it.”

Drivers have been outspoken regarding lug nuts

In the last week, several drivers – but notably no crew chiefs – publicly criticized the former policy as being too lax and a safety concern. Tony Stewart received a $35,000 fine by NASCAR for criticizing the sanctioning body for a lack of concern for the safety aspect.

Under the former policy, tires and wheels were required to be secured in a “safe and secure manner” at all times, but the only specific enforcement mechanism spelled out in the rulebook was a serious penalty (multiple team member suspensions) should a wheel come off the car.

“When was the last time a wheel fell off a car because the lug nuts weren’t tight? So you looked at it and it was kind of self-policing (policy) really,” Ratcliff said. “I don’t know any driver in the sport who is going to go out there and race with a loose wheel – usually if they have a loose wheel they’re going to bring it right back to you on pit road and make you tighten it.”

Under the new policy, NASCAR can issue warnings to teams who fail to glue all five lug nuts on wheels before the race; it can call a car down pit road at any time in the race to check for compliance; and a P3 penalty can be assessed if a car is missing lug nuts or they are found not to be tight in postrace inspection.

Will this change how Kenseth’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing approaches the race?

“So, we’ll tighten five lug nuts now,” Ratcliff said. “It’s not a slap on the wrist. (The penalty) could be fairly substantial.”