Ross Chastain already faced a difficult task entering Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Hours before the green flag, it became even tougher.
Following multiple pre-race inspection failures, NASCAR handed the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet one of the most significant penalties issued before a race weekend. Chastain will not only lose his crew chief for Sunday’s event, but he will also have to serve a pass-through penalty after the race begins.
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The punishment comes after Chastain’s car failed inspection three times before Sunday’s Window World 450. Unlike cars that failed inspection twice, NASCAR required the No. 1 team to serve an additional in-race penalty, putting Chastain at an immediate disadvantage once the green flag waves.
Chastain faces steep challenge before race even begins
Crew chief David Fero was ejected for the remainder of the race weekend after the third inspection failure. Chastain also forfeited his pit stall selection and will start from the rear of the field despite originally being slated to roll off 13th after qualifying was washed out by rain Saturday.
The pass-through penalty will likely cost Chastain at least one lap on North Wilkesboro’s tight 0.625-mile oval, making it extremely difficult to recover unless cautions fall in his favor.
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It is a significant setback for a driver who entered the weekend carrying momentum. Chastain has recorded six consecutive top-20 finishes and came into Sunday’s race 20th in the Cup Series standings, 45 points below the provisional playoff cut line with the regular season winding down.
Two other teams also penalized
Chastain was not the only driver affected during pre-race inspection.
Austin Hill’s No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet each failed inspection twice before eventually passing. As a result, both teams lost their crew chiefs for the remainder of the weekend and forfeited pit stall selection.
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Clay Alexander, Hill’s crew chief, and Eddie D’Hondt, Zilisch’s crew chief, were both ejected under NASCAR’s inspection procedures.
However, neither Hill nor Zilisch will have to serve the additional pass-through penalty because their cars passed inspection before reaching a third failure.
With Ryan Blaney leading the field to green, Chastain now faces one of the toughest recovery efforts of anyone in Sunday’s 400-lap race. Any hopes of climbing back toward the playoff cut line will require overcoming both a rear-of-the-field start and an early trip down pit road before he can begin racing the rest of the field.
