NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Connor Jones has been suspended for one race following an incident in Saturday’s event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the sanctioning body announced Wednesday.
NASCAR also handed Layne Riggs and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team an L1-level penalty for improperly mounted ballast.
Jones intentionally hit Matt Mills’ rear bumper on lap 76, which sent Mills’ No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet into the outside wall. Mills was transported to a Jackson South Medical Center following the crash, where he remained for two days under observation for smoke inhalation. Mills was released on Monday. He was cleared to drive in the upcoming Truck Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
Following the crash, Jones was penalized two laps on pit road. He finished 25th at the 1.5-mile oval.Â
In Riggs’ case, NASCAR deducted 10 driver and 10 owner points to the No. 38 FRM team. Crew chief Dylan Cappello was suspended one race as well for being in violation of Section 14.3.4.A&B: Ballast Containers in the NASCAR rule book. Riggs finished 22nd after running out of fuel in the closing laps.
Other Penalties
Three NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chiefs were fined $5,000 apiece for loose lug nuts during post-race inspection at Homestead. Mardy Lindley of Sam Mayer’s No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Andy Street of Austin Hill’s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Joe Williams of Ryan Sieg’s No. 39 RSS Racing Ford.
Spire Motorsports’ Charles Walters, crew chief for Rajah Caruth in the Craftsman Truck Series, was fined $2,500 for having a loose lug nut on the No. 71 Chevrolet.Â