Martinsville Speedway: NASCAR Inspection Issues (April 2021)

NASCAR crew chief ejected; Point penalty for ballast violation

Martinsville Speedway is set to host the NASCAR Cup Series. It’s a short track race on a Saturday night under the lights in Martinsville, Virginia.

NASCAR opened inspection around noon today. All cars must pass the inspection line before the race.

Inspection takes longer than usual due to COVID protocols. Each team is spaced out in the line.

Inspection is ongoing. However, NASCAR officials have discovered a large violation on the car of Daniel Suarez of the Trackhouse Racing team.

Officials discovered ballast in the jackpost, per Jamie Little. Crew chief Travis Mack has been ejected by NASCAR. Weight must be mounted to the frame, inside a compartment, per the NASCAR rulebook.

Jose Blasco-Figueroa will serve as the crew chief for the No. 99 machine in tonight’s race. The team has been handed a 10 point penalty in both owner and driver points.

Additionally, Corey LaJoie, Justin Haley and James Davison also failed inspection more than one time. Each of those cars will go to the rear.

Inspection is now complete.

Related: Martinsville Starting Lineup

NASCAR Inspection Penalties (Rules)

1 NASCAR Inspection failure: No penalty, the team gets to go to the back of the inspection line and try again.

2 NASCAR inspection failure: If a team fails twice, NASCAR will send that car to the rear of the field.

3 NASCAR inspection failures: They have to start at the rear. In addition, the car has to serve a pass through penalty on pit lane at the start of the race.

Typically, NASCAR crew members are ejected on a second failure. However, due to a lack of practice and/or qualifying in recent events, series officials have given less-strict ejections for failed pre-race inspections.

Related: Martinsville TV Schedule: April 2021 (NASCAR Weekend)

Links

Daniel Suarez | Martinsville Speedway |  NASCAR

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