NASCAR star Bubba Wallace dealt In-Season Challenge blow by suspensions

23XI Racing has had multiple members of team personnel suspended for the next two races of the NASCAR Cup Series season.

Despite a strong outing from the No. 23 team in San Diego this past weekend, with Bubba Wallace eventually coming home in second place and moving up two places in the Cup Series standings as a result, it was far from a perfect day.

At one point, Wallace's right front wheel became detached from his car while out on the track, with his crew having not tightened it accordingly during a pit stop.

That resulted in a two-lap penalty – fortunately coming early in the race, giving him enough time to work back onto the lead lap during cautions and then work back through the field – but also has some knock-on effects beyond the race itself.

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Wallace down two crew members

As is standard for incidents involving a wheel avoidably becoming detached on the race track, two members of the No. 23 crew will be suspended for the next two races, at Sonoma and Chicagoland.

NASCAR's judgement was swift, getting handed down on Tuesday evening ahead of the final road course race of 2026, and is as follows.

"Rear-tire changer Adam Hartman and jackman Nathan Ricketts have been suspended for the next two events, running through Chicagoland Speedway on July 5, after a detachment of Bubba Wallace’s right-front wheel on Lap 18 in Sunday’s Anduril 250 on the Qualcomm Circuit at Naval Base Coronado, causing a caution and violating Sections 8.8.10.4.A&D in the NASCAR Rule Book."

Sonoma also sees the start of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, returning with a modified format for a second season.

Unfortunately for Wallace, he's up against road course specialist Michael McDowell in the first round. That makes him the underdog (oddsmakers have McDowell as the -450 favorite to win that matchup), and losing two key members of his pit crew won't help his chances at all.