CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR on Monday rescinded Ryan Blaney's disqualification at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when series officials found a problem with the template used during post-race inspection.
The reversal restored Blaney's sixth-place finish from Sunday's race, which had been stripped hours after the checkered flag for an alleged illegal front shock on his Ford. The disqualification dropped Blaney to last in the race and would have crippled his championship chances.
Blaney went from last in the round-of-eight field to seventh, but his deficit below the cutline was reduced significantly.
“NASCAR has shown a tremendous amount of integrity throughout the process which has led to this conclusion," Team Penske said in a statement that lauded the reversal. "We are proud of the effort and the results by the No. 12 team during the 2023 season. We look forward to continuing the pursuit of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.”
NASCAR did not reveal what about the template used in the inspection led to the initial disqualification.
“Monday morning during its race weekend debrief, NASCAR discovered an issue with the damper template used for inspection. NASCAR then conducted a detailed investigation, and has restored the No. 12’s stage and race finishing positions from Sunday,” NASCAR said in a statement.
NASCAR has two more races to set the championship-deciding final field of four drivers. Kyle Larson won at Las Vegas to clinch the first spot in the finale.
