Kyle Larson finished fourth place in an up-and-down night Saturday at Kansas Speedway, but his story from the race may not be quite finished.
FS1 TV cameras appeared to show a dented rear window area on his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet following the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event, something NASCAR officials have penalized this season as a violation of the rule book.
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Larson indicated in his post-race interview that he believes the damage was caused following an on-track incident with Ryan Blaney. His No. 42 will undergo further teardown this week at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina — along with the No. 4 of Kevin Harvick, the No. 78 of Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 21 of Paul Menard.
NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell addressed the topic Monday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“I think there’s certainly something you can look for,” O’Donnell said on the subject of potential mid-week penalties to the No. 42 team. ” … It’s no different than rear skew in the past where it was an area teams found they could work on — suddenly it’s become the rear window area. We see the claims of damage, but you know, talking to our folks, I’ve never seen damage cause that.
“Certainly we’ll go back like we always do and thoroughly inspect the car, but it’s an area we continue to focus on because the teams know that they’ve found something there. And if we have to react we will, but still looking at it.”
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Multiples teams have been penalized this year for violating Section 20.4.8.1 of the rule book, which deals with rear window support. A brace that supports the rear window must meet specifications for keeping rear window glass rigid in all directions.
Typical ramifications have included a fine, two-race suspension to either the team’s crew chief or car chief and a loss of 20 driver and 20 owner points.