Something was clearly amiss at Darlington when NASCAR fired crew chief Tyler Reddick after the No. 45 Toyota failed two checks. We later learned that it was all about heaviness, which can be a heavy thing in every sense of the word.
NASCAR suspended a new penalty this week for a follow-up eviction, which made us curious to expand our knowledge of heavy metal beyond Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden.
NASCAR penalized Tyler Reddick 10 points for a ballast issue
Officials docked Tyler Reddick’s NASCAR Cup Series team 10 points Tuesday for violations that came to light during two botched pre-qualifying inspections last weekend at Darlington Raceway. Officials cited the rule requiring teams to secure all ballast inside a ballast container.
While that’s nowhere near the level of penalties for other teams for various violations this season, it does explain crew chief Billy Scott’s ejection before the Goodyear 400 at Darlington.
When NASCAR ejects two standard team members due to failed pre-qualifying checks at the tracks, it is usually the chief of the car as well as the crew member most closely associated with the machine or setup in question. Booting Reddick’s crew chief was an uncommon crescendo, but ballast also an uncommon problem.
What role does ballast play in NASCAR racing?
Ballast serves as additional chassis weight by NASCAR teams to ensure their cars meet the minimum weight requirements under the rules. Teams can also use it to tweak the car’s balance as the crew plays with camber, tire pressure, suspension banked setup, and the condition of the tracks.
Tungsten is the preferred ballast material because of its density. A block of tungsten is 70% heavier than a block of lead of similar dimensions. This allows teams to use smaller pieces with more options for placement to obtain the desired balance.
However, safety remains the primary consideration. If you drop the ballast of a car moving at 180 miles per hour, you could be a dangerous projectile across the track.
So, how much does tungsten cost? We went shopping for a ballast-sized block of tungsten, and both eBay and Amazon showed a listing for a 36-pound block for $2,100, which seemed out of the ordinary. A 2020 story on Jalopnik’s website priced a similar block between $800 and $1,900.
Losing weight Ross Chastain caused a close call in 2015
Ballast falling off a car’s bodywork can cause panic under racing conditions, as Ross Chastain and another driver discovered live at Iowa Speedway in May 2015.
Chastain was driving an Xfinity that season for Johnny Davis’ JD Motorsports when the ballast fell off his car during practice for the 3M 250 on the 0.875 mile course. Ballast hit Jimmy Dick’s Chevy, going through a piece of the windshield and hitting him in the head.
“All the breaks and the lead started coming out,” Dick said. “I dodged the breaks, but I didn’t dribble the lead.”
Dick escaped serious injury. Chastain quickly posted an apology on Twitter on behalf of his team.
After a brief NASCAR investigation, crew chief Gary Cogswell was fined $15,000 and placed on probation for the rest of the season.
Have a question or comment about the race? John Moriello of Sportscasting does a column in the mailbag every Friday. Write to him on [email protected].
