NASCAR News: Joe Gibbs Racing hoping to avoid major Denny Hamlin penalty after investigation

Denny Hamlin and his crew are still hoping to avoid a major ongoing penalty from NASCAR this week, after an incident at Bristol on Saturday night.

Hamlin's right front wheel came off about a dozen laps after a final stage pit stop, resulting in a collision with AJ Allmendinger. At least, that's the way that NASCAR judged it on the night.

However, crew chief Chris Gayle argued that the wheel coming off may have been a result of the contact with Allmendinger rather than the other way around, and continued to make that case after the race.

If NASCAR follows its typical punishment procedure for an improperly secured wheel coming off on track, Hamlin will lose two crew members for the next two races, a decision which should be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday.

NASCAR HEADLINES: Cup Series star 'mortified' as 23XI legal battle takes fresh twist

Hamlin: Something was out of whack on No. 11 car

Gayle spoke to Motorsport.com about the incident as the No. 11 car was going through post-race inspection, admitting: “We don’t know what happened yet. There was definitely contact with (Allmendinger) and there was contact with the wheel nut at the same time, and I’ve never seen contact like that before, so I’m sure they’ll do more investigating. We’ll see.”

While Gayle is clearly hoping that the team can skate the worst of NASCAR's potential punishments, he added: “We are for sure, always prepared for anything that might happen. But for sure, we’ll be prepared either way.”

Hamlin, for his part, said after the race: "It is what it is. We were the only car on pit road at the time and unfortunately, the tire fell off."

He continued: “There was clearly an issue with the car. We had just hit the wall the lap before so I can’t look at the suspension and tell if it was broke or not. Certainly, there was something there that was out of whack.”