NASCAR penalizes Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece 35 points each after parts were confiscated at Atlanta

Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson will enter the third race of the NASCAR Cup Series season without any points.

NASCAR announced Tuesday that Preece and Gragson had both been penalized 35 points for non-conforming air deflectors on the roofs of their cars. The parts were confiscated Friday before the race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Preece had exactly 35 points before the penalty and was 24th in the Cup Series points standings. He now has 0 points. Gragson, meanwhile, was two spots behind and had 29 points. He now has -6 points and it’s possible that he could still be below zero with a poor finish on Sunday at Las Vegas.

It’s the second time Stewart-Haas teams have been penalized for major infractions over the past two seasons. Chase Briscoe was penalized 120 points in the spring of 2023 because of a counterfeit part on his car. The penalty effectively ruined Briscoe’s season and he was 30th in the points standings.

With 24 races to go before the postseason begins, there’s plenty of time for Preece and Gragson to get into the playoff mix. But it would also require some improvement from their team. While now-retired Kevin Harvick made the playoffs in 2023, the three other SHR cars finished outside the top 20 in the points standings.

Joey Logano fined $10,000

Joey Logano was issued a fine of $10,000 for wearing a webbed glove during qualifying at Atlanta on Saturday.

Logano qualified second but was sent to the back of the field before the race began after video footage revealed there was fabric in between the thumb and index finger on the glove Logano was wearing on his left hand.

The webbing was there because Logano — and other drivers — have been putting their left hands up to deflect air from getting into their driver’s side windows and decrease drag. The extra fabric on Logano’s glove would have created a bigger surface area for air deflection.