While a Chevy and a Toyota dueled it out for the lead in the closing laps of the Cup Series race at Las Vegas on October 15th, 2023, the No. 12 NASCAR Ford Mustang of Ryan Blaney quietly crossed the line in sixth place. However, he wasn’t able to keep the position, as the No. 12 Mustang unfortunately failed postrace inspection, resulting in Blaney’s disqualification.
Specifically, the left front damper on the No. 12 Mustang did not meet the overall specified length, as outlined in Section 14.11.3.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book.
As such, Blaney was forced to forfeit his sixth-place finish, surrendering the eight Playoff points he earned during the race, and was ultimately credited with a 36th-place result, dead last. As such, Blaney is now 56 points below the Playoffs cutoff line and at risk of being eliminated from the Championship 4.
Other NASCAR Ford teams had decent days, including the No. 6 Mustang of Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth after leading 38 laps during the event. Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 17 Mustang and the second of two Ford Playoffs contenders, brought it home in 10th. He’s 23 points below the cutoff line.
Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 got across the line in first, punching his ticket to the Championship 4 in Phoenix in three weeks.
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 267 | 133 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Rheem/Smurfit Kappa Toyota | 267 | 61 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 3 | 6 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 4 | 21 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 267 | 38 | Ford Mustang |
| 5 | 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Relay Payments Chevrolet | 267 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 8 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | Jordan Brand Toyota | 267 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 8 | 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 267 | 9 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 9 | 15 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota | 267 | 23 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 10 | 5 | 17 | Chris Buescher (P) | Travel Centers of America Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Pennzoil Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 12 | 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | DoorDash Toyota | 267 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 13 | 13 | 10 | Aric Almirola | IHOP Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 36 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 24 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Mobil 1 Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 16 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stop Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 16 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BetMGM Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 28 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | NEGU Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 33 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 20 | 22 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 21 | 20 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 19 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Autotrader Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 23 | 27 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 30 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Smith's/Drumstick Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 32 | 41 | Ryan Preece | HaasTooling.com Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 29 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Frontline Enterprises Inc. Ford | 266 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 27 | 23 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 26 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | ConectUS Ford | 266 | 2 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 34 | 15 | Brennan Poole(i) | MACC Door Systems Ford | 266 | 0 | ford Mustang |
| 30 | 31 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | BretBaier.com Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 35 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | LLumar Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 32 | 17 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Code 3 Associates Ford | 263 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 33 | 11 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 259 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 34 | 14 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 144 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 25 | 42 | Carson Hocevar(i) | Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 36 | 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Tarkett Ford | 267 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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Comments
GREAT NEWS – NASCAR overturned the DQ Monday when they discovered that the template used at Vegas was ‘flawed’. You rarely see NASCAR change a ruling.
Why would any team risk disqualification with only 3 races left? Duh!!!
Dave, that’s good news. Thanks.