NASCAR ejected four car chiefs and one engineer after five NASCAR Cup Series cars failed pre-race inspection twice at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The affected cars were the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of driver Ross Chastain, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of driver Kyle Larson, the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet of driver Cole Custer, the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford of driver Chad Finchum, and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of driver Michael McDowell.
Each team lost a key crew member for the remainder of the weekend and will forfeit pit-stall selection regardless of qualifying position, while all five cars passed inspection on a third attempt and remain eligible to qualify.
NASCAR said similar inspection failures have recurred several times early in the 2026 season, the No. 66 open entry has been flagged in multiple races so far, and Zane Smith’s No. 38 FRM team was penalized at Phoenix for unapproved post-inspection adjustments.
This article is based on reporting from Motorsport.
Read the full article at Motorsport.
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