While Sunday’s finish wasn’t ruled encumbered, a cumbersome list of infractions to both Chase contenders and regular competitors arose following the Chase-opening race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Martin Truex, Jr.’s race-winning No. 78 Toyota and 12th-place finisher Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet each failed post-race LIS inspection after Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles 400.
Both cars failed at minimum levels, meaning the finish wasn’t encumbered under the inspection rules implemented by NASCAR earlier in the week. Because of that Truex should be able to hold on to the advancement to the second round of the Chase earned with the victory.
However, for Johnson, who sits 10 points ahead of the current cutoff position for the Chase’s Round of 12, a potential 10-point penalty could prove costly and place him in a three-way tie for 12th with Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick ahead of next weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Outside of the Chase grid, the Fords of Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were found to have lug nut issues following the race. Under the new rules neither team will see any points penalties or crew chief suspensions, though both teams could see monetary fines between $10,000-$20,000
NASCAR will review each of the above instances. Any penalties will be announced later in the week, likely on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Kyle Busch’s car also failed LIS once, but passed on the second attempt, meaning his team won’t see a penalty.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.