Aric Almirola penalized 35 points after Talladega inspection failure
Aric Almirola’s fourth-place finish at Talladega comes with a hefty points penalty.
NASCAR announced on Wednesday that Almirola was penalized 35 points and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer was suspended three races and fined $65,000 after the car failed post-race inspection. NASCAR said the car failed rear steer measurements. The sanctioning body instituted tighter rear-steer rules for 2017.
Almirola’s fourth at Talladega tied his best finish of the season and was his second-straight top-10 finish. He was 17th in the standings after the race but will fall into a tie for 20th with Daniel Suarez after the penalty.
The team said it accepts NASCAR’s penalty and will not appeal. The team’s director of engineering, Scott McDougall, will serve as Almirola’s interim crew chief at Kansas, Charlotte and Dover.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
