Martin Truex Jr.'s crew chief put on probation, 4 teams given NASCAR warnings
Martin Truex Jr.'s crew chief, Cole Pearn, has been placed on probation through the end of the calendar year after NASCAR didn't approve of how the roof flaps lined up on the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota during Daytona 500 qualifying on Feb. 14.
The violation constitutes a P2 level penalty on NASCAR's six-tier Deterrence System.
Truex, who wasn't able to make a Daytona 500 qualifying attempt when inspectors discovered the issue with the roof flaps, finished second in The Great American Race after losing to Denny Hamlin by .010 -- the closest margin of victory in Daytona 500 history.
NASCAR also announced Wednesday evening that the Sprint Cup teams of Regan Smith, Landon Cassill, Brian Scott and Michael Annett were all issued a written warning for twice failing NASCAR's Laser Inspection Station in pre-qualifying inspection for the Daytona 500.
Meanwhile, over in the Camping World Truck Series, ThorSport Racing's Ben Rhodes and owner Duke Thorson were docked 10 driver and owner points, respectively, for illegal rear lower coil spring mounts found on the truck during post-race inspection at Daytona. As a result of the P2 penalty, crew chief Kevin Bellicourt was fined $2,500 and placed on probation through year's end.
