As the checkered flag dropped at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Ryan Preece crossed the line in a career-best second place, half a car length behind race winner Austin Cindric.
A few hours later, Preece was sitting in 38th place in the official race results.
Preece and defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano were disqualified from the Jack Link’s 500 after their cars failed post-race inspection — specifically, NASCAR found technical violations in the rear spoilers.
That dropped Preece’s No. 60 Ford to 38th place and Logano’s No. 22 Ford into 39th, last place. Logano crossed the finish line in fifth place.
According to a NASCAR report, officials found “unapproved shims in the rear spoiler area.” Logano’s car violated rules relating to spoiler braces used during superspeedway races, per the report.
“The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang was disqualified following post-race inspection at Talladega today,” Team Penske said in a statement. “One of the 18 bolts on the surface of the spoiler that connect to the base was found to be loose, and NASCAR penalized the team as a result. This was not intentional and happened throughout the course of the race event. Team Penske accepts the disqualification.”
Cindric picked up his first win of the season as Fords originally had four cars finish in the top 6.
NASCAR also announced the No. 5 of Kyle Larson (who moved up to second after the DQs) and the 21 of Josh Berry (26th place) would undergo additional inspection this week at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C.
–Field Level Media
As the checkered flag dropped at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Ryan Preece crossed the line in a career-best second place, half a car length behind race winner Austin Cindric. A…
Austin Cindric held off Ryan Preece down the stretch to win the Jack Link’s 500 as the NASCAR Cup Series returned to action after a bye week on Sunday at…
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Front Row Motorsports maintained its strong position out front at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with 24-year driver Zane Smith convincingly claiming the first pole position of his NASCAR…
Austin Cindric snags narrow win over Ryan Preece at Talladega
Zane Smith captures first-career pole for Talladega Cup race
Action shifts to Talladega after a couple of odd turns
Mexico City GP set for F1 renewal through 2028