The drive toward victory in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will be a bit tougher for three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. The cars of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones each failed pre-race technical inspection on Saturday (Sept. 19), relegating each of them to the rear of the field to start the event.Â
NEWS: The No. 11, 18, and 20 teams fail pre-race inspection at @BMSupdates and will start at the rear of the field. pic.twitter.com/Pjo5NgtepF
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 19, 2020
While Jones is not in the NASCAR Playoffs, it does put Hamlin and especially Busch in a precarious position of advancing to the round of 12.
Busch enters Saturday in ninth place in the standings, 18 points above the cut line.Â
Hamlin enters Bristol in third place in points and is likely safe from elimination.
Denny Hamlin says he doesn't know why the Gibbs teams twice failed pre-race inspection.
"Not ideal. It's putting yourself in a hole. We dont need stage points. If we're good enough, we'll get to the front. If we were in a points battle, it would be disappointing."
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) September 19, 2020
Brad joined Frontstretch.com in 2020 and contributes to the site's 5 Points To Ponder column and other roles as needed. A graduate of the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has covered sports in some capacity for more than 20 years with coverage including local high school sports, college athletics and minor league hockey. Brad has received multiple awards for his work from the Georgia Press Association.
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