NSCS: Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fail Post Daytona 500 Technical Inspection

Following Daytona 500 qualifying, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would both fail post-qualifying technical inspection on Sunday afternoon.

Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing exceeded the maximum split for the rear track bar. The split is limited to three inches, and Hamlin’s was found to be at 3.75 inches. Rather than starting second in the second Budweiser Duel, he will be forced to start 24th.

Earnhardt’s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was too low in the left-front by 1/8 inch. While the minimum-height rule was eliminated by NASCAR last year, it is still implemented on the restrictor plate tracks – Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

“Obviously NASCAR does a great job inspecting the cars and they found that our ride heights after qualifying were too low,” Greg Ives, crew chief for Earnhardt, said. “They did their due diligence of allowing us to go through their processes of how they deal with it.  In the end we still ended up low.  It’s unfortunate for the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS team.  We were definitely not trying to do anything intentional here.  I don’t feel it was an advantage that got us to our 10^th place position, but it is definitely something that can be frowned upon and not looked as being compliant to the rules and that is what we need to stick to.”

Rather than starting fifth in the first Budweiser Duel, Earnhardt will be forced to start 25th.

About the Author

Ashley McCubbin

Joining OnPitRoad.com mid-2013 season, Ashley McCubbin is now the Managing Editor and contributes to each racing division as needed. Since studying journalism at the University of Guelph-Humber, Ashley has published articles on a couple of different websites, while serving as a public relations representative for different short track teams. Born in North York, Ontario, Ashley currently lives in Bradford, Ontario and spends her weekend at the local short tracks in the area. She has spent her entire life at the short track level, falling in love with the sport at the age of five. Beyond her love of short track racing, she also has grown an interest for both NASCAR and the IndyCar Racing Series. She also enjoys taking photos and working on websites, while playing a couple rounds of Candy Crush afterwards.

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