At the end of Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it looked like a step in the right direction for Jimmie Johnson.
The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion led late, and battled with eventual winner Brad Keselowski in overtime for the win. In the end, Johnson crossed the finish line in second, extending his win drought to 102 races, but coming away with a strong finish.
That went away in post-race inspection, as Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet failed in post-race alignment numbers going through the optical scanning station. That led NASCAR officials to disqualify the car, costing Johnson the finish and any playoff points he had gained on the night.
“Yeah, the failure was rear alignment,” said NASCAR Cup Series managing director Jay Fabian. “It’s the same thing that we check at least a handful of cars for post-race after every event. I can’t really give specifics on the numbers.
“Yes, there is a pre-race number and a post-race number that does give a pretty decent tolerance. It was outside of those post-race numbers.”
Despite the accelerated schedule in place as NASCAR works to get up to speed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fabian says the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports still has the right to appeal the penalty.
“So they do have a standard right to appeal, just like any penalty. I would have to follow up, with the crazy schedule, like you said, with the rule book to see exactly when that deadline is because it’s 2 in the morning eastern time. I would have to verify when that appeal deadline is.”
The disqualification will also mean the No. 48 team will have to start at the back of the field of Wednesday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which works on an inversion of the top 20 finishers from the Coca-Cola 600.
Pit Call Dooms Chase Elliott’s Coke 600 Win Hopes
Four days ago, Chase Elliott was left wondering what might have been.
With just a handful of laps to go in Darlington Raceway’s mid-week event, contact from Kyle Busch sent Elliott’s No. 9 Chevy nosing into the inside wall out of second place, ending his night on the back of a wrecker.
On Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Elliott was again left wondering what might have been.
The Dawsonville, Georgia racer had wrestled the lead away from Brad Keselowski with 38 laps to go, and appeared to be pulling away to his first win of the year, not to mention his first win at Charlotte – and in the Coca-Cola 600, a race that eluded his Hall of Fame father, Bill Elliott.
With two laps to go, Elliott’s teammate, William Byron, spun with a flat tire, bringing out the caution and sending the race into overtime.
It seemed unlikely that Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, would take a chance on bringing Elliott to pit road. But he did know that whatever he did, the competitor’s behind him would do the opposite.
But to the surprise of many, Elliott came to pit road for tires, while Brad Keselowski and Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, stayed out, among others.
Elliott made a valiant charge through the field over the final two laps of the race, but got no close than third while Keselowski scored his first Coca-Cola 600 win, taking home a trophy that Elliott all but had in his hands.
“I hate it for both myself and my team, our sponsors, the whole nine yards, unfortunate,” Elliott said afterwards. “But it is what it is. Can’t help it. Those things happen, so… I’ve watched a lot of races unfold that way. Unfortunate to be on that end of it. It’s one of those deals.”
The first person to reach Elliott after the race was Kyle Busch, as the two spoke on pit road.
“He just felt bad for us,” Elliott said.
Elliott now looks for a better result when the NASCAR Cup Series races again at Charlotte on Wednesday.
“Just try again. That’s all you can do,” said Elliott. “I mean, there is really no other option. I can’t rewind time. There’s no other choice.”
Hamlin’s Day Derailed Early With Lost Weight
Denny Hamlin came into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 off as strong a run as anyone could hope for after winning the rain shortened NASCAR Cup Series race the previous Wednesday at Darlington Raceway.
After rolling off from the 13th starting spot, Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota lost a weight from his car. He returned to pit road, and his Joe Gibbs Racing team scrambled to replace the piece of tungsten while the field took the green flag.
Hamlin finally hit the track on lap eight of the 400 lap race. In the end, he finished some seven laps down in 30th.
The problems may not be over, as the loss of the weight could result in a hefty penalty form NASCAR for the No. 11 team later this week.
