Corey LaJoie came into Phoenix Raceway hopeful, as the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team had snagged top-15 finishes in two of the opening three races of the 2022 season.
However, LaJoie will not score another top-15 in Sunday’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway as his race came to an end on lap 46, when the right front tire flew off his car going into turn one.
Here's what happened: https://t.co/ib60frcRzB pic.twitter.com/NuO3crP3nG
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 13, 2022
The tire flew off and it looked like the wheel was not properly secured on the team’s pit stop prior to the incident, as the center lock nut and a chunk of the rim flew onto the track as well, which Cody Ware slammed into.
LaJoie pounded the wall. The damage sent him behind the wall and out of the race. Now, LaJoie’s crew chief and two of his pit crew members will face a four-race suspension if NASCAR determines the issue was caused by an improperly installed wheel.
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