What happened
On Lap 224 at Martinsville, Ryan Preece spun from 4th after his right-rear wheel came off during Stage 2. RFK Racing attributed the spin to a loose wheel and said the failure forced him to chase lost position for the rest of the race.
Preece had already led 41 laps and finished Stage 1 in 3rd. During the caution before the wheel failure, he stayed on track with William Byron and Chase Elliott, keeping his car among the leaders for the restart.
What it cost
The lost wheel brought a two-lap penalty under NASCAR's rule for a tire coming off beyond pit road. Preece finished Stage 2 in 30th and completed the race in 23rd, two laps down. His finish was 19 positions below the 4th place he held before the spin.
On November 3, NASCAR suspended rear tire changer James Price and jackman Samuel Wright from the next two Cup Series events for the lost wheel. The Section 8.8.10.4 A&D penalty included the 2027 Clash.
What could have been done differently
RFK should have held Preece in the pit box until the right-rear wheel was secure. The car had already demonstrated race-leading pace; protecting that run required completing the wheel fastening before release, even at the expense of time on pit road.
Any suspected looseness after release required a return to the pits before restarting. Kyle Larson's crew took that corrective step during the same stage, stopping him again to make sure the left-rear tire was tight. Larson returned to pit road on Lap 222, before the field went green on Lap 223.