As Motorsport.com reports, Saturday's NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway turned into an absolute disaster for Brandon Jones and Justin Allgaier. Both drivers crashed out of the event early after tangling at the start of Stage 2. To make matters worse, Jones was subsequently disqualified from the race due to having at least four loose lug nuts on his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
The afternoon started with real promise for Jones, who won the race off pit road at the end of Stage 1 following a blistering fast pit stop. Unfortunately, that speed came at a heavy price because the team was unsure if they managed to get the left-front tight. They did not. Jones immediately lost ground on the restart, struggling to control a machine with a clearly loose wheel before losing control underneath Jesse Love and slamming into the outside wall. That impact put him directly into the path of championship contender Justin Allgaier, destroying both cars.
Allgaier, the reigning NOAPS champion, entered the weekend just 11 points out of the championship lead. Jones missed the Chase, but was actively hunting for a win to shake off recent misfortune. Following the crash, Allgaier briefly returned to the track to run two slow laps just to overtake Jones in the running order. Unofficially, they finished 34th and 35th, but the automatic disqualification for the loose lug nuts dropped Jones behind Dawson Cram into 36th and last place.
"Yeah, I mean it boiled down to the pit stop and not getting them tight," Jones said after being released from the infield care center. "I mean, I thought they did a great job. They got me out front. That's what we needed to do. We needed to be able to control this race and they were probably pushing as hard as they could, but it's all about no mistakes right now and unfortunately, we continue to figure out and find ways to make mistakes every single race so far."
Jones added that the loose wheel made the car entirely unmanageable. "I was just trying to stay out of people's doors. I mean, when the left front or right front's loose like that the car just will not turn. It doesn't like it at all. So I couldn't feel it before I went green but as soon as I got into the corner just instant 9/10 vibration. What are they going to do behind me? They're all just in a bad spot with that situation. It boils down to better execution. I'm frustrated right now with my guys. I just I know in my heart that they're better than this and we continue race after race to come here and we make these mistakes."
The disqualification also triggered a slight shake-up in the championship standings by stripping Jones of the stage points he collected as the fourth-place finisher in Stage 1. Carson Kvapil remains 19 points behind Sheldon Creed for the lead, but Jesse Love gained a point to sit 21 points back, while Justin Allgaier gained a point to trail by 30 points. Further down, Carson Kvapil is 19 points back, Jesse Love is 22 points behind, and Justin Allgaier is 31 points behind following the wreck. They are followed by Corey Day, who was unaffected by the disqualification, while the Las Vegas race winner sits 41 points out of the lead. Allgaier called his early exit pretty frustrating after dominating the regular season.
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