Wolfe won’t travel to Talladega with No. 2 team – Nascar

Paul Wolfe, crew chief of the No. 2 Ford fielded for driver Brad Keselowski in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, will not travel with the team to this week’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

According to a team spokesperson, team engineer Brian Wilson will handle the crew chief duties during Wolfe’s absence.

The organization, which fields entries in the series for Keselowski and Joey Logano, has withdrawn its request to defer Wolfe’s suspension, a request that was subsequently granted.

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Wolfe will sit out the season’s 10th race as Team Penske officials await a Final Appeal hearing scheduled for next Tuesday at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina. It will be the second race Wolfe has missed since the team was penalized for post-race irregularities following this year’s Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

Keselowski finished fifth in the Phoenix race, but the No. 2 entry failed the post-race rear wheel steer on the LIS (Laser Inspection Station).

NASCAR fined Wolfe $65,000 and suspended him for three Monster Energy Series races while Keselowski and the No. 2 team were docked 35 driver and owner points, respectively.

Wolfe sat out the Auto Club 400 the week after the Phoenix race, and Team Penske officials filed notice for an appeal. On April 12, a three-member National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the original penalties.

The organization filed for a Final Appeal, which will be heard by Final Appeals officer Brian Moss next week. If the initial ruling is upheld, Wolfe would be required to sit out one more race, the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway scheduled for May 13.