NSCS: Larson And Newman Fail Post Race Laser Inspection Following Southern 500

Kyle Larson finished third at Darlington but was one of two drivers to fail post race inspection Sunday night. (Josh Hedges/Getty Images) — Kyle Larson finished third at Darlington but was one of two drivers to fail post race inspection Sunday night.
(Josh Hedges/Getty Images photo)

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Following the conclusion of Sunday night’s 67th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR announced that the Chevrolets of both Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson and Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman failed post race laser inspection.

For Larson who finished third, any potential points penalties will not affect his standing on the Chase Grid, as he locked up his berth with his win at Michigan a week ago.

Newman, who finished eighth after leading nine laps late in the race on a pit strategy maneuver, is in a more critical position.

The South Bend, Indiana veteran sits on the Chase bubble, currently ranking 17th in the Chase standings and only seven points out of the playoffs — making potential penalties extremely detrimental to his hopes of qualifying for the Chase Grid in next week’s regular season finale at Richmond Int’l Raceway.

Should any points penalties come from the incident, they would be handed out Tuesday or Wednesday.

Previous LIS penalties this season have carried a 10 point deduction for both driver and owner, as well as a $15,000 fine for the crew chief.

Both drivers have already been bitten by inspection woes this season, with Newman losing 10 points at Atlanta in February for illegal body attachments and Larson being docked 15 points (due to the deterrence system) for failing LIS inspection at Michigan in June.

About the Writer

Rence Brown is Race Chaser Online’s West Coast-based correspondent, who currently resides in California and carries a deep passion for NASCAR, but is a follower of multiple forms of auto racing across multiple disciplines.