NASCAR growing increasingly frustrated with inspection failures
NASCAR officials are growing increasingly frustrated over the continued significant number of pre-qualifying and pre-race inspection issues each week.
At Kansas Speedway this past weekend, six Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams were unable to clear pre-qualifying inspection in time to participate and all had to start Saturday night’s race in the back of the field.
NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing development officer, Steve O’Donnell, said during an interview Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “Morning Drive” show that the sanctioning body would continue to fight back against teams who publicly complain about the process.
“You’ve heard me come on and say we’ve got the most talented engineers in the world working on the race cars and we believe that, and it’s certainly frustrating because it is on the teams to present their cars for inspection,” O’Donnell said.
“It’s become the equivalent of a Kris Bryant (of the Chicago Cubs baseball team) coming to the plate with a bat that you can’t use and the umpire says you can’t use that, (he) comes back with a bat you can’t use and the umpire says it again, and then the third time says you can’t make your plate appearance, and the batter runs to the media and says, ‘I can’t believe they did this.’
“At some point, it gets frustrating on our end and at some point, we’ve got to get the teams to be able to show up and get through tech inspection.”
As O’Donnell noted, even when there are issues, a vast majority of teams still are able to complete the process on time or without any problems. There are a number of “repeat offenders” when it comes to inspection issues.
In recent months, NASCAR has upped the penalties for inspection failures, increasing the amount of practice time lost and even ejecting crew members from the track for multiple failures in addition to loss of starting position.
“It hasn’t seemed to work,” O’Donnell said. “I think we’ll go back and look at it collectively and continue to focus on the teams that are doing it right and really make that be the narrative.
“Where we can make an adjustment we certainly will; the last thing we want to do is to penalize any team, we don’t want that to be the narrative.”
One of the issues NASCAR is looking at this week is a large dent that developed in the rear window of Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet late in the Kansas race.
Larson claimed the dent came from damage from an on-track incident with Ryan Blaney but O’Donnell seemed to discount that theory on Monday.
“I’ve never seen damage cause that,” he said. “So certainly, we’ll go back like we always do and thoroughly inspect the car. It’s an area we continue to focus on because the teams know they’ve found something there.”
Previous article
Ford says it can now match Toyota car cycle
Next article
Kevin Harvick says 2018 season "feels like a game"
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Why NASCAR's most resilient driver has landed on his feet at 23XI
In a career that has had many ups and downs, Kurt Busch has been written off many times before. But facing career uncertainty after the sale of Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team, the 2004 Cup champion has found a new berth at Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan's 23XI organization - which underlines his enduring value
From the archive: Dale Earnhardt’s final Autosport interview
The death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500 shocked NASCAR to the core. At the Daytona 24 Hours, two weeks before his fatal accident, ‘The Intimidator’ shared his expectations of challenging for an eighth Cup title with JONATHAN INGRAM, in an article first published in the 15 February 2001 issue of Autosport magazine. Little did we know then what tragedy would unfold…
The lasting NASCAR legacy after Dale Earnhardt’s death
On February 18, 2001, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt – the fearless ‘Intimidator’ – was in his element at Daytona International Speedway. While his own DEI team’s cars ran 1-2 towards the finish line, his famed #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo was playing rear gunner to block any late runs from the chasing pack. As the cars tore through Turns 3 and 4 on that fateful final lap, Earnhardt maintained the strongarm tactics that encapsulated his persona… but his actions in those moments sadly proved to be his last.
Inspired by Pitbull, the “revolution” sweeping through NASCAR
The NASCAR Cup Series is changing. Whether it be the gradual morphing out the seasoned drivers of yesterday as the next generation step up, a radical calendar shake-up featuring more road courses than ever before and the prospect of an all-new car on the horizon, stock car racing’s highest level is nearing the end of a huge facelift.
The NASCAR storylines to watch out for in 2021
This weekend's Daytona 500 kickstarts a NASCAR Cup season that promises plenty of intrigue courtesy of new owners and a refreshed calendar. Here's what you need to know ahead of the new season…
Why Kyle Larson can't blow his big shot at redemption
From a disgraced NASCAR exile, Kyle Larson has been given a chance of redemption by the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports squad. Effectively replacing seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is no easy billing, but Larson has every intention of repaying the team's faith...
