Parts were confiscated from two NASCAR Ford race cars after inspection at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 23rd, 2024, before qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday, according to a report from NASCAR.com.
Specifically, the roof air deflectors from the No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse of Noah Gragson and the No. 41 Mustang of Ryan Preece, both of which are fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), were taken by officials for further evaluation. NASCAR did not state why these parts were seized, but indicated that any potential resulting penalties will be announced next week.
As outlined in the NASCAR Rule Book, roof air deflectors must consist of parts listed in rule 14.5.6.1. To note, this is the first time a NASCAR Ford has had inspection issues since the introduction of the all-new Mustang Dark Horse race car.
Roof air deflector illustration from 2024 NASCAR Rule Book
However, it isn’t the first time a Mustang from the SHR stable has been nabbed in inspection in the Cup Series. In October 2022, the No. 4 Mustang of Kevin Harvick incurred hefty penalties following the race at Talladega Superspeedway as a result of unapproved modifications to a single-source part.
Later, the sanctioning body revealed that the No. 4 NASCAR Ford team had tampered with the windshield fasteners for a competitive aerodynamic advantage. Harvick was disqualified from the race and dealt significant point deductions. SHR did not appeal this penalty.
During the 2023 season, the No. 14 Mustang of Chase Briscoe, also fielded by SHR, was penalized for a counterfeit part found after the Coca-Cola 600 in May. The race car’s engine panel NACA duct was not provided by the approved single-source supplier, resulting in an L3-level penalty, which is the most severe possible. NASCAR made a point to display and explain the offending part in the interest of transparency.
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Comments
Not a sport of the best any longer. Nascar is not worth the trouble. Gave up years ago as a fan.
If the parts were bad from Ford,why were they fined big bucks and given penalties. That should be wrong,that is Fords fault not SHR.