Five NASCAR Cup teams faced penalties after failing pre-race inspection at Bristol Motor Speedway. The inspection failures led to the ejection of four car chiefs and one engineer.
Multiple Failures Lead to Ejections
Five cars failed pre-race inspection twice. As a result, a key team member from each was ejected for the remainder of the weekend. The teams also lost pit stall selection, receiving the remaining five stalls after the rest of the field’s choices.
The cars that failed twice on Saturday included the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Ross Chastain, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson, the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet of Cole Custer, the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford of Chad Finchum, and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of Michael McDowell.
- Ross Chastain’s car chief was ejected.
- Kyle Larson’s car chief was ejected.
- Cole Custer’s car chief was ejected.
- Chad Finchum’s car chief was ejected.
- Michael McDowell’s engineer was ejected.
While car chiefs were ejected for Larson, Chastain, Custer, and Finchum, one of McDowell’s engineers was ejected from the Spire group.
Cars Pass on Third Attempt
Fortunately for the teams, all cars managed to pass on the third attempt. This means they will still be permitted to qualify. The teams will also avoid any in-race penalties.
Inspection Issues Not Uncommon
Inspection failures like these have occurred several times early in the 2026 season. At Darlingon, three teams had issues (Elliott, Buescher, THill). Four teams had issues at Las Vegas (Byron, Cindric, Allmendinger, TDillon), and two at Atlanta (ADillon, McLeod).
Zane Smith’s No. 38 team FRM was penalised at Phoenix after they were caught making unapproved adjustments following inspection.
The No. 66 open entry is the only team to encounter issues in pre-race inspection in more than one race so far this year.