NASCAR Hands Cup Series Driver Penalty After Three Failed Inspections

NASCAR has imposed penalties on Todd Gilliland and his team, Front Row Motorsports, after the No. 38 car failed inspections three times during the qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway.

Gilliland, despite the setbacks, managed to secure the second-place start right behind his teammate, Michael McDowell, who clinched the pole position for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

The repercussions for Gilliland’s inspection failures primarily impact his pit strategy. Losing pit stall selection could detrimentally affect his race performance in Saturday night’s event.

The penalties extended to Gilliland’s team as well, with the ejection of the car chief from the event, putting additional pressure on the team to recalibrate and focus amidst these challenges.

FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass posted to social media:

“In Cup tech, Todd Gilliland car didn’t pass until third time so despite starting on front row, he won’t get to pick his pit stall (they lose pit selection). And his car chief was ejected. The rest of the cars passed on first or second try.”

Gilliliand is currently twentieth in the Cup Series standings with 455 points. He now has just two races to secure himself a spot in the playoffs.

As Michael McDowell prepares to exit Front Row Motorsports for Spire Motorsports, the team looks towards Noah Gragson and another unnamed driver to fill the evolving roster next season.

When to watch NASCAR at Daytona International Speedway

Saturday 24 August

2pm ET: ARCA Menards Series – Practice

3pm ET: ARCA Menards Series – Qualifying

4pm ET: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – Practice

4.30pm ET: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – Qualifying

7.30pm ET: NASCAR Cup Series – Coke Zero Sugar 400

Sunday 25 August

1pm ET: ARCA Menards Series – Sprecher 150

4pm ET: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – Liuna! 175

NASCAR Cup Series: Current Standings

1. Tyler Reddick – 814 points
2. Chase Elliott – 804 points
3. Kyle Larson – 782 points
4. Ryan Blaney – 732 points
5. William Byron – 728 points
6. Denny Hamlin – 711 points
7. Christopher Bell – 703 points
8. Martin Truex Jr – 682 points
9. Brad Keselowski – 677 points
10. Ty Gibbs – 644 points
11. Alex Bowman – 627 points
12. Chris Buescher – 621 points
13. Ross Chastain – 606 points
14. Bubba Wallace – 605 points
15. Joey Logano – 561 points
16. Daniel Suárez – 526 points
17. Kyle Busch – 513 points
18. Chase Briscoe – 491 points
19. Austin Cindric – 460 points
20. Todd Gilliland – 455 points
21. Michael McDowell – 449 points
22. Carson Hocevar – 441 points
23. Josh Berry – 427 points
24. Noah Gragson – 425 points
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – 400 points
26. Ryan Preece – 367 points
27. Erik Jones – 361 points
28. Justin Haley – 346 points
29. Austin Dillon – 345 points
30. Daniel Hemric – 337 points
31. Corey LaJoie – 332 points
32. John H. Nemechek – 321 points
33. Zane Smith – 292 points
34. Harrison Burton – 266 points
35. Kaz Grala – 166 points
36. Cody Ware – 65 points
37. Joey Hand – 43 points
38. Jimmie Johnson – 39 points
39. Derek Kraus – 32 points
40. David Ragan – 17 points
41. Kamui Kobayashi – 8 points
42. Will Brown – 6 points
43. Cam Waters – 2 points