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No. 9 of playoff driver Chase Elliott fails pre-race inspection multiple times at Texas

No. 9 of playoff driver Chase Elliott fails pre-race inspection multiple times at Texas

The No. 9 Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott failed pre-race inspection two times Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. He was the only playoff driver to have his car fail multiple times before the Autotrader EchoPark 500, the opening race in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

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As a result, Elliott, who was originally slated to start sixth, will drop to the rear of the field during pace laps before Sunday’s contest, which is set for a green flag of 2:08 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Elliott enters the race two points below the elimination race as the Cup drivers battle to earn spots in November’s Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.

Other cars with two inspection failures included the No. 48 Chevy of Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman (originally starting 14th), who was eliminated from playoff contention last week; the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of Corey LaJoie (originally starting 29th), the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Chase Briscoe (26th), the No. 77 Spire Chevy of Justin Haley (32nd), the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet of Garrett Smithley (36th) and the No. 66 MBM Motorsports Ford of David Starr (38th).

There were no three-time failures during pre-race inspection.