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Chaotic Gateway Race Ends in Brake Failures and Calls for Rule Changes

The failures exposed cooling limits of the new 750-horsepower, low-downforce package, prompting teams to press NASCAR and manufacturers for technical fixes.

Overview

  • The NASCAR Cup race at World Wide Technology Raceway, which ran Sunday, spiraled into chaos with a track-record 18 cautions, two red flags and a double-overtime finish.
  • Multiple catastrophic right-front brake-rotor failures caused major crashes and DNFs for drivers including Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher and triggered several late cautions.
  • Teams and drivers publicly disagreed over blame with some blaming the higher-horsepower, reduced-downforce package and track demands while others pointed to team setup choices such as nose tape and brake cooling decisions.
  • Kyle Larson won the wreck-filled event to snap a 51-race drought and moved to second in the Chase standings while five title contenders failed to finish or lost significant ground.
  • Calls for fixes range from manufacturer-NASCAR collaboration on brake components to Kevin Harvick’s proposal to allow post-practice replacement of pads and rotors, but NASCAR has not announced any immediate rule changes.