NASCAR has penalized four Cup Series teams ahead of Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (4 p.m. ET on FS1).
According to an update from NASCAR Communications, four teams failed pre-race inspection two times. The list included the No. 2 of Team Penske, the No. 10 of Kaulig Racing, the No. 16 of Kaulig Racing, and the No. 24 of Hendrick Motorsports.
These failures led to two penalties. The first is that all four of these teams lost pit stall selection for Sunday’s Cup Series race. The other is that they all lost car chiefs for the remainder of the weekend.
The No. 2 team lost car chief Eric Bailey, the No. 10 team lost car chief Troy Lankford Jr., the No. 16 team lost car chief Jaron Antley, and the No. 24 team lost car chief Jacob Bowman.
All four teams remained able to participate in qualifying, a penalty that would have come into play if they had failed inspection for a third time.
The failed inspections meant that the four drivers had fewer opportunities to practice during the 25-minute sessions. Their cars had to go through tech multiple times.
Austin Cindric only completed four laps around Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the No. 2 Ford. He posted the 28th-fastest lap at 29.853 seconds. AJ Allmendinger completed two laps in the No. 16 Chevrolet and posted the 26th-fastest lap at 29.826 seconds.
William Byron completed three laps of practice in the No. 24 Chevrolet on Saturday morning. He posted the seventh-fastest lap at 29.583 seconds. Ty Dillon did not hit the track in the No. 10 Chevrolet during practice. He made his first lap during qualifying as he completed a lap in 30.607 seconds.
Three drivers from this group seek their first Cup Series win at the 1.5-mile Nevada track while Byron seeks his second win. He won the spring race back in 2023.
Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will take place at 4 p.m. ET. FS1 will provide coverage with Mike Joy, Kevin Harvick, and Clint Bowyer in the booth.