Almirola fails Talladega inspection

After winning the Xfinity race at Talladega Saturday, Almirola's Cup car was found to be illegal on Sunday

Aric Almirola faces a potentially pivotal points penalty after his fourth-place car at Talladega Superspeedway failed postrace measurements on Sunday.

The Richard Petty Motorsports driver could lose 35 points — the amount Brad Keselowski lost for his car failing the laser inspection station in March — as well as see crew chief Drew Blickensderfer suspended for three races.

NASCAR rules on a case-by-case basis, so if the violation on the laser platform is different than Keselowski's, the penalty could also be different. The NASCAR rule book states that the penalty for failing postrace measurements can be anywhere from 10 to 40 points, with a crew chief suspension of one to three races.

NASCAR likely would announce any penalties on Wednesday.

Almirola is one point behind the current playoff cutoff with 18 races left in the regular season.