Triple Eight fined, docked points after Adelaide finale
Triple Eight fined, docked points after Adelaide finale
Wheel nut rolled into fast lane during Broc Feeney pit stop
Feeney copped two 30-second penalties in Race 24
Triple Eight Race Engineering has been fined and docked teams' championship points over a pit lane incident in Sunday's VAILO Adelaide 500.
Broc Feeney picked up two 15-second penalties over an unsafe release and contact on Ford rival Chaz Mostert.
Ironically, Feeney's penalties helped championship-winning Red Bull Ampol Racing teammate Will Brown take out Sunday's race and, with it, VAILO Adelaide 500 honours.
After the race, officials advised that Triple Eight has been deducted 30 teams' championship points and fined $1500 after a wheel nut rolled into the fast lane.
The wheel nut rolled into the fast lane off Feeney's wheel, before the #88 was released into the path of Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Mostert.
Triple Eight was hit with an identical penalty in the ITM Taupō Super400 event in April, when a wheel nut flew into the fast lane during a Brown pit stop.
Replays showed the nut coming free, before being flicked into the fast lane off the tyre as the Triple Eight crew member replaced the wheel.
The report reads: "Car 88, whilst in the Teams Pit Bay conducting a Pit Stop, a wheel nut from Car 88, observed by pit lane officials, rolled into the fast lane."
Feeney was ultimately penalised for careless driving regarding the Mostert clash late in the race, with the stewards adding: "Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined that at the entry to Turn 6, Car 88 attempted to overtake Car 25 on the inside. The contact occurred when Car 25 turned-in for Turn 6. The Stewards determined that Car 88 had insufficient overlap on Car 25 and the Driver of Car 88 was wholly to blame for the incident."
On the unsafe release, the report adds: "Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined that the incident was wholly attributable to the misjudgement of the Team in releasing Car 88 into the path of Car 25."
