NASCAR confiscates parts from Martin Truex Jr.’s car (Update)

Martin Truex, Jr.

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UPDATE NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, Scott Miller, said a points penalty is unlikely for Martin Truex Jr. for the jack bolt confiscated but the typical process is to evaluate after the weekend. He said it was not a competitive advantage and while it could be a safety issue it was not to the degree of where NASCAR would consider it a safety infraction. ESPN

10/22/16 Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. could face a points penalty after NASCAR confiscated front jack screws from his car during an inspection before qualifying Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR confirmed it confiscated the screws. It typically announces penalties Wednesday after the race weekend and has the option of issuing a points penalty that could be 10 to 25 points, depending on how severe NASCAR views the violation.

NASCAR occasionally takes parts from cars and evaluates them after the race weekend is over in determining the penalty.

Truex crew chief Cole Pearn said in a tweet that it was a mistake and also indicated it was clearly unintentional because, he said, common sense says center of gravity doesn't matter at Talladega.

Truex, who has four wins this season, has a 13-point edge on the current cutoff spot in the standings heading into the final race of the Chase quarterfinal round of 12 Sunday at Talladega. Depending on how many points, if any, Truex is penalized, it could affect whether he advances in the Chase if it puts him among the four Chase drivers winless in the round with the fewest points. Motorsport.com first reported the news of the confiscated screws. ESPN