JOLIET, Ill. - NASCAR disqualified Christopher Bell’s third-place car after it failed inspection after Saturday’s Xfinity race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Wayne Auton, managing director of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, said that the front of Bell’s car was found to be “extremely low” and the right rear was “a little high.”
Auton said officials looked to see if any race damage could have caused the issue and “there was not.”
Auton said the car passed inspection before the race.
This marks the first time in the Xfinity Series that a car has been disqualified for failing inspection after a race. It is the second time in three weeks this has happened in NASCAR. Ross Chastain had his victory taken away in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series after his truck failed inspection at Iowa Speedway.
Bell will receive one point for last place. He had scored 51 points for his third-place finish and top-three finishes in both stages. Only race winner Cole Custer (58 points) scored more than what Bell had collected before he was penalized.
Custer’s car passed inspection.
UPDATE: NASCAR confirmed JGR did not file an appeal request before Monday’s noon deadline, meaning there will not be an appeal.
Wayne Auton, #NASCAR managing director of the Xfinity Series, explains the issue with @CBellRacing’s @JoeGibbsRacing car and why it failed inspection and was disqualified. pic.twitter.com/gccNyIprTw
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 29, 2019
Wayne Auton, managing director of the #NASCAR Xfinity Series, says race damage was not a factor in @CBellRacing’s @JoeGibbsRacing car failing inspection after the race. pic.twitter.com/M61EXVdVym
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 29, 2019