A wheel and brake assembly (10) having a torque bar (24) supported at a mid-span location. The torque bar (24) can be pre-loaded at a mid-span location. The pre-load can be effected by a spacer block (150) that is interposed between the wheel well and the torque bar (24). The method and device of the present invention can be used with existing wheel and brake assemblies. The spacer block can be a two-part spacer block.