'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
NASCAR 2022 Cup Series Ruoff Mortgage 500 began with some hard slaps on the wrists of nine Cup Series drivers after they fell on the wrong side of the association's rule book. All nine drivers failed the pre-qualifying inspection twice ahead of the qualifying race.
As a result of qualifying infractions, each team of nine drivers will lose a crew member as well as pit selection for Sunday’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday 13th March at 3:30 PM.ET.
Tyler Reddick, driving Chevrolet #8 for Richard Childress Racing, is one of the drivers who will race without his car chief David Alexander. Garret Smithley, car #15 driver for Rick Ware, will also be running without chief Robert Valentisen.
Joe Gibbs' driver, Kyle Busch driving Toyota #18, also received the slap of losing car chief Nate Bellow. His teammate Christopher Bell driving Toyota #20 was also unlucky and will hit the track without car chief Chris Sherwood. Todd Gilliland, the driver of Ford #38 for Front Row Motorsports, was also not left behind in receiving the whips as he lost his engineer Tony Raker.
Ford #41 Stewart-Haas Racing of Cole Custer will not have the services of car chief Tony Cardamone. Ty Dillon driving Chevrolet #42 for Petty GMS Motorsport, also received his fair share of the penalty as he lost to car chief Cam Strader.
His teammate Erik Jones driving Chevrolet #43 for Petty GMS Motorsports, will also miss engineer Danny Efland. The last driver to miss a crew on Sunday’s Ruoff Mortgage was Landon Cassil, the driver of Chevrolet #77 for Spire Motorsports, whose car chief JR Norris was withdrawn.
On Twitter, NASCAR went ahead and highlighted the drivers that were caught in a mess. They stated that:
NEWS: The following cars have failed pre-qualifying inspection twice at @phoenixraceway. One crew member is ejected from each team and the team loses pit selection: No. 8, No. 15, No. 18, No. 20, No. 38, No. 41, No. 42, No. 43, No. 77
NASCAR Drivers penalized with inspection failure during Pennzoil 400
The group is not the first that NASCAR has penalized this season for inspection infractions. During the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Speedway, seven drivers found themselves in the same mess. Six of the drivers failed the inspection twice, leading to the withdrawal of a crew member for each driver.
The six included Bubba Wallace Jr., Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and BJ McLeod. On Twitter, NASCAR updated the cars that failed the pre-qualifying inspection twice.
The case, however, was different for 23XI Racing new driver Kurt Busch. Busch was among the seven but his car failed the inspection thrice. This attracted tougher penalties, which included being disqualified from the qualifying race. Apart from his car chief David Bryan being withdrawn, he was whipped with a pass-through penalty. With the introduction of new cars, NASCAR has been very keen on the inspection process.
