AJ Allmendinger, JGR XFINITY team penalized following Atlanta race weekend
As expected, NASCAR has levied major penalties following last weekend’s tripleheader weekend of racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
After Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, AJ Allmendinger’s No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet was found to have three lug nuts improperly installed in post-race inspection.
Wednesday, NASCAR docked Allmendinger 35 driver points and the team 35 owner points.
Allmendinger’s crew chief, Randall Burnett, was hit with a three-race suspension and $65,000 fine.
The violation of section 10.9.10.4 of the NASCAR Rule Book also means Allmendinger's 26th-place finish in the race is encumbered.
In the NASCAR XFINITY Series, Kyle Busch’s victory in Saturday’s race was declared an encumbered finish after his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed to meet post-race height inspection in both the left front and right front of the car.
Busch’s victory will still stand in the record books, but because of the encumbered finish, Joe Gibbs Racing will not get any owner points for Busch’s race-winning No. 18 Toyota, a car expected to challenge for the title.
The team was fined 10 owner points, and crew chief Scott Graves was suspended for one race and fined $10,000.
The violation fell under section 20.17.3.2.1.2 of the NASCAR rule book.
In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the No. 23 GMS Racing team was hit with a pair of penalties. Chase Elliott drove the team’s truck to a fifth-place finish, a result that is now encumbered because the truck flunked ground clearance inspection in post race.
Crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz was suspended one race and fined $5,000, while the team was penalized 10 owner points. Stankiewicz was fined an additional $2,500 for improperly installed lug nuts.
