Ryan Blaney opened up the Round of 8 with a solid sixth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but that result has been wiped from the board after the left-front shock did not meet the proper, specified length.
Blaney, who scored 39 total points (31 from finishing sixth, plus eight stage points), will instead be credited with 36th-place and one point from Sunday’s (Oct. 15) South Point 400.
Everyone that finished behind Blaney will gain one position and one point. Every top-11 driver that finished behind Blaney in the first two stages will gain an extra point as well.
With Blaney’s DQ, here’s how many points that each playoff driver gained on the cut line.
| +2 | William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick |
| +1 | Martin Truex Jr., Chris Buescher |
| 0 | Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson |
With Kyle Larson locked in, William Byron (+11), Denny Hamlin (+4) and Martin Truex Jr. (+3) are above the cut. Christopher Bell (-3), Tyler Reddick (-15), Chris Buescher (-23) and Blaney (-56) are below it.
Team Penske and the No. 12 team will have the opportunity to appeal the disqualification.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf