Three Championship 4 teams lose crew member due to failed inspections at Phoenix
Three of the four NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 cars failed inspection prior to the start of qualifying on Saturday night and as a result, each of those teams will lose a crew member.
The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. will each lose a crew member ahead of Sunday’s title race (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App/Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) after failing inspection twice.
Car chiefs Jesse Saunders (No. 5 team), Brandon Griffeth (No. 11 team) and Blake Harris (No. 19 team) are the respective crew members that have been ejected.
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A third inspection failure would have resulted in no qualifying attempt being made and a pass-thru penalty being served at the green flag before the season finale. All three cars passed on their third attempt.
Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet passed on its first attempt. Elliott is the defending race winner and Cup champion.
Elliott and Truex each have one championship in the Cup Series, while Larson and Hamlin are hunting for their first Cup title.
