NASCAR ejects JTG Daugherty crew chiefs

Stenhouse Jr. and crew

NASCAR ejected the crew chiefs for JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. from the Auto Club 400 after an inspection issue was discovered before Saturday’s qualifying.

NASCAR also docked both drivers 10 points and each team 10 points for the L1 infraction. Both drivers also moved to the rear before the start of the Cup race at Auto Club Speedway. Stenhouse was to have started 10th. Preece was to have started 20th.

NASCAR ejected crew chiefs Trent Owens (Preece) and Brian Pattie (Stenhouse) after both teams violated Section 20.20 of the Rule Book: Assembled Vehicle Overall Rules. That section states: “Parts, systems, devices, omissions or component failures cannot affect what what should otherwise be the normal airflow over the body of the vehicle."

“We are aware of the penalties handed down by NASCAR this morning at Auto Club Speedway," car owner Tad Geschickter said in a statement. “Brian Burns will be the crew chief for Ryan Preece and the No. 37 team, and Eddie Pardue will be the crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 47 team. We have no plans to appeal the penalty at this time."