Photo Credit: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Justin Allgaier and his No. 7 JR Motorsports team had thought they were guaranteed an XFINITY Series playoff spot following their win at Dover International Speedway but that’s no longer the case after the team was given an L1 penalty after failing post-race inspection.
Allgaier’s car was found to have “truck trailing arm spacers / pinion angle shims not in complete contact with the mating surface.” The penalty comes with a loss of 25 driver and owner points, and a two-race suspension for crew chief Jason Burdett. Allgaier keeps the race win, but no longer gets to reap the rewards of a playoff position. Allgaier is eligible to keep his $100,000 Dash4Cash prize because NASCAR said it’s viewed as race winnings, which NASCAR penalties don’t affect.
Allgaier’s crew wasn’t the only team subject to race penalties.
In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, both Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez, the second- and third-place finishers, were found to have rear window violations. That gave them an L1 penalty as well. Bowyer’s crew chief Mike Bugarewicz was fined $50,000 and given a two-race suspension as did Scott Graves, the crew chief for Suarez. Both penalties come with a 20 point penalty.
Austin Dillon’s car was found to have a splitter not in compliance with NASCAR specifications. Daytona 500 winning crew chief Justin Alexander and the team’s car chief have been suspended from the race at Kansas Speedway.
Another RCR Racing car was given a penalty for a splitter non-compliance, but that was in the XFINITY Series. Jeb Burton’s No. 3 car was found to be in violation. Crew chief Nick Harrison was fined $10,000 while car chief Michael Scearce has been suspended.
NASCAR also handed down a behavioral penalty to an XFINITY Series crew member and a lug nut violation to the No. 4 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team and the No. 41 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team. A full list of penalties are listed below.
About the Author
Thank you for this report and column. I am sorry to learn of all of the penalities from this past weekend at Dover.