Earnhardt, Hamlin fail inspection after pole qualifying
By The Associated Press
Posted 5:51PM on Sunday, February 15, 2015
Crew members work on the Denny Hamlin's Toyota during Daytona 500 qualifying. Both Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. saw their times disallowed after their cars failed post-qualifying technical inspection. / Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The cars of NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin failed post-qualifying inspection for the Daytona 500 pole Sunday.<br />
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Earnhardt and Hamlin will have to start at the rear of their respective qualifying races Thursday.<br />
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Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolet did not meet NASCAR's minimum height requirement. Earnhardt responded to the penalties on Twitter, saying it was an eighth of an inch too low. "That's a shame. The boys will figure out why. Makes the duels a lot more interesting," Earnhardt tweeted.<br />
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The track bar in Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota did not meet specifications. He also took to Twitter to jokingly explain what went wrong. He wrote: "Crash damage.. It was the wreck I say!!! Lol."<br />
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Earnhardt posted the 10th-fastest time in the final qualifying round. Hamlin was third fastest in the session.
