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Marco Andretti loses entire rear axle during XPEL 225 at COTA

JHby:Jonathan Howard•03/23/24•

Jondean25

Marco Andretti rear axle COTA
Image: Screenshot, FS1

This is something that you don’t see often, even in NASCAR. Marco Andretti lost his entire rear axle while racing at COTA. Andretti was having a tough time in the XPEL 225 and then things got worse.

The incident happened just as Corey Heim was ready to take the white flag. Heim has battled all day and led the most laps. It felt like he was going to just run away with the race and then, with two laps to go, Andretti’s truck came apart.

Marco Andretti is done for the day and NASCAR brought out the red flag to clean up the mess. A ton of fluid was put down on the track as the axle dislodged itself. When is the last time you saw a rear-end housing come off a racecar or truck like this?

For drivers like Taylor Gray, Ty Majeski, Nick Sanchez, Ross Chastain, and Connor Zilisch this is a new lease on life. Andretti couldn’t have done the unthinkable at a better time for these other drivers. For Corey Heim, well, that’s just how racing goes some days.

This also puts a lot of drivers in a tough situation with fuel mileage. Chaos in Austin, Texas for the Craftsman Truck Series.

This year Marco Andretti is making select starts in the Truck Series as well as the ARCA Menards Series. Things haven’t been great for him so far in 2024. However, losing his rear axle might just be rock bottom.

So far this season, Andretti has two starts in ARCA with a DNF finish of P25 at Daytona and a P21 finish at Phoenix. Today’s finish of P31 and another DNF is not how he wanted to start his truck campaign.

After Andretti lost his rear axle, the race went under a red flag to clean up fluid. It was a bizarre situation and no one really saw it coming. Perhaps one too many bumps off the curbs shook the housing loose and when he went to make the sharp turn, BOOM!

This led to an overtime restart to the finish. Corey Heim was in the lead and did not appreciate the late caution. However, it was no issue as Heim raced to the win and closed out a dominant performance, leading 30 laps.

A bad day for Marco Andretti, but he can still improve. He is racing for Roper Racing in the Truck Series, not the best equipment. Although it wouldn’t shock me if that Group 1001 sponsorship for Andretti has raised the bar for that organization.