NASCAR’s weekly penalty report was delayed on Wednesday (Sept. 21) after the decision to hold an impromptu teleconference with less than a half- hour’s notice to announce changes to post-race inspection penalties. Despite that, there were still a number of teams to be penalized.
Aric Almirola and Greg Biffle‘s cars were found to have loose lug nuts after the completion of Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, a P3 penalty. Earlier this season, such a finding out would have led to suspensions. Wednesday’s ruling means that Drew Blickensderfer and Brian Pattie will not have to sit out Sunday’s Bad Boy Off Road 300. However, both crew chiefs have been fined $10,000.
Four teams failed the template inspection twice in pre-race inspection and earned warnings as a result. Those are Team Penske’s No. 2 for Brad Keselowski and three of Hendrick Motorsports’ entries, the No. 24 of Chase Elliott, the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson and the No. 88 of Alex Bowman. For Elliott’s No. 24, it is the fourth warning. As a result, the team will lose their pit selection at Loudon.
Two of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four teams failed the laser inspection twice prior to the race and were warned. Those teams are the No. 10 of Danica Patrick and the No. 41 of Kurt Busch. Neither team will earn further punishment, but both are now on their third warning.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 for Tony Stewart flunked the pre-race template inspection three times. In addition to a warning, Stewart will have to serve a 15-minute penalty in the opening practice session at Loudon on Friday.
In the XFINITY Series, Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 (driven at Chicagoland Speedway by Paul Menard) failed the pre-race template inspection three times. No mention was made of any additional penalties to the No. 2 team.
Finally, in the Camping World Truck Series, Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 failed post-race inspection due to a tailgate height issue. NASCAR has deemed it to be a P2 penalty. The No. 18 truck has been penalized 10 owners points, while crew chief Wes Ward has been fined $6,000 and placed on probation through the end of the year. As owner/driver Kyle Busch is a Sprint Cup regular, he is ineligible to have driver points stripped from him.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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