Ryan Newman's championship drive took a hit before he even got on track at Richmond, the final race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set.
On Wednesday, Newman and his Richard Childress Racing team were penalized 15 driver points and 15 owner points after the No. 31 Chevrolet failed the post-race laser inspection station measurements. RCR will not appeal the penalty.
"We do not plan to appeal the penalty issued today to the No. 31 team," a team statement read. "Our rear toe settings were well within specs during pre-race inspection. The car made contact with the outside wall during the race and there was clear damage to the right rear fender and tire. NASCAR has told us that the LIS standard is clear and the car must pass post-race inspection even if damage has been sustained."
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Newman left Darlington 14th in the standings, seven points behind Jamie McMurray. Thirteen drivers have wins this season, and 12 of those drivers are locked into the Chase. Chris Buescher must remain in the top 30 in the standings after Richmond in order to snag his spot in the field.
Chase Elliott leads among drivers without a win in the competition for the final three (as long as Buescher makes the field) spots. Austin Dillon and McMurray follow. Newman will now be 22 points behind McMurray and drops to just 22 ahead of Kasey Kahne in the standings.
In addition to the points penalty, Newman crew chief Luke Lambert was fined $25,000.
Kyle Larson and his team also failed the post-race laser inspection. Crew chief Chad Johnston was fined $22,500 and the team was also assessed the loss of 15 owner points and 15 driver points. Larson has a victory, so his Chase hopes were not hampered.
Additional penalties were assessed on Wednesday.
— Ryan Blaney was penalized $1,000 for improper driver protective clothing/equipment. He failed to wear gloves during practice at Darlington.
— Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards each received a written warning and will each miss 15 minutes of practice time after failing laser inspection three times before Sunday's race. Joey Logano and Jeffrey Earnhardt also received a written warning for failing twice. Tony Stewart was given a written warning for failing the template inspection twice in pre-race inspections.
In the Xfinity Series, Ryan Preece's team was given a written warning for failing prerace laser inspection twice.
In the Camping World Truck Series, the teams of Tyler Young and John Hunter Nemechek were each given written warnings for truck trailing arms that did not meet race specifications.