NASCAR is racing at Daytona International Speedway this weekend. The race is the regular-season finale for the NASCAR Cup Series ahead of next week’s playoff opener.
On Friday, qualifying was canceled due to lightning strikes. However, William Byron would have been starting at the back of the field regardless…
The No. 24 car driven by Byron actually cleared inspection on his second attempt through the line. After passing inspection, car adjustments become limited per the rules book.
Actions by the crew after clearing inspection have resulted in a penalty.
NASCAR officials said the team made unapproved splitter adjustments to the car, after clearing inspection. The car was pulled off the grid and told to go through inspection again.
NASCAR stated, “On their second attempt through inspections after passing all stations the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was observed making an unapproved adjustment to the splitter. The struts were reinstalled, and the car was rerun over the underbody scanning station and failed due to the adjustment.”
As the car ran through inspection, it failed due to the adjustment. NASCAR has issued a penalty to the Hendrick Motorsports team.
Byron will be forced to start at the back of the field on Saturday. He’ll also have to serve a stop-and-go penalty at the start of the race. The team has also lost pit selection.
Rudy Fugle, crew chief for the No. 24 has been ejected from the speedway. Brandon McSwain will fill-in as the crew chief for the race.
Byron has already clinched the 2025 regular-season championship.
Additionally, the No. 78 car driven by BJ McLeod failed inspection twice. Car chief Lee Lesile has been ejected for the rest of the weekend. The team has also lost pit selection.
NASCAR starting grid and TV schedule for Daytona International Speedway
The following includes various levels of inspection penalties:
1 Failure
No Penalty
2 Failures
Crew member of NASCAR’s choosing ejected. Additionally, the team loses pit selection.
3 Failures
Not permitted to qualify plus above penalty. They also have to serve a pass-through penalty at the start of the race.
The green flag is set to drop on Saturday night in Daytona Beach, FL.