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NASCAR’s Brad Moran Explains Alex Bowman Charlotte DQ

Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports were disqualified during post-race inspection following the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.

NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran, who spoke to the media following the announcement, said the Hendrick Motorsports car failed to meet minimum weight during an inspection of playoff cars. 

“As we were running through, we had an issue and the [No.] 48 did not meet minimum weight,” Moran told reporters post-race. “We put the car to the side and carried on. … We gave them the opportunity to fuel the car as well as purge the wire system and add water. We gave them every opportunity to make minimum weight. We ran them back through and unfortunately they were light again.

“They are allowed a (.5%) weight break for usage of fluids and so on. That’s about 17 lbs. We backed the car off the scales, ran it back on, and unfortunately it was the same weight.”

Bowman and the No. 48 car are both out of the driver’s and owner’s playoffs. Joey Logano is back in the driver’s championship Round of 8, while the No. 45 Toyota from 23XI Racing (driven by Tyler Reddick) will move into the owner’s playoffs.

“We are working to understand the issue and will make a decision Monday about whether to submit an appeal,” Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement on Sunday night.

See also
Alex Bowman Disqualified After Charlotte, Out of Round of 8

Moran opted not to disclose any further details on the No. 48 with a pending appeal. He also expects the appeal to be expedited in order to ensure a clear playoff field before the series races at Homestead Miami Speedway next Sunday.

“We can’t get into that,” Moran said. “Obviously, we’re going to have an appeal process that’s in play. We’re not getting into all the details of the car. The car did not meet our rule of minimum weight. If the appeal happens it’ll be expedited so it’ll probably happen in the next couple of days.” 

All other cars were cleared in post-race inspection. Moran said the No. 48 will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D center.

James Krause joined Frontstretch in March 2024 as a contributor. Krause was born and raised in Illinois and graduated from Northern Illinois University. He currently works in La Crosse, Wisconsin as a local sports reporter, including local short track racing. Outside of racing, Krause loves to keep up with of football, music, anime and video games.


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John

Unless there are parts that fell off the car due to crash damage, its tough to appeal a weight measurement. Someone has a “before” measurement of the car I’m sure. The weight went somewhere.

Allen

Typical Nascar decision. This is no the first time a car has been disqualified “post” race. This is a lot of bull. If the car does not pass pre-race he should not be allowed to run. If you are not in a race rule condition, “see you next week”.