DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR competition officials disqualified the Kaulig Racing No. 10 Chevrolet in the early Saturday morning hours at Daytona International Speedway, throwing out AJ Allmendinger’s third-place finish in Friday’s Xfinity Series event after the car failed post-race inspection.
Xfinity Series Managing Director Wayne Auton said a post-race vacuum check revealed a discrepancy in the engine of the Kaulig No. 10 entry. The team was relegated to last place in the 38-car field for Saturday’s Circle K Firecracker 250.
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“Whenever you go, especially to restrictor-plate style races, the teams are very much aware that everything’s got to be sealed up tight,” Auton said. “It could compromise the ability of the restrictor plate to do its job.”
The infraction dialed back what initially appeared to be a 1-2-3 finish for the Matt Kaulig-owned team to a 1-2 result for race winner Ross Chastain and runner-up Justin Haley. Allmendinger was making his first NASCAR national series start of the season.
Auton said officials customarily check the first- and second-place cars in post-race inspection, then a third car at random. The first two passed the vacuum test and all other areas of the inspection.
Auton did not indicate whether additional penalties would be forthcoming.
“They are being DQ-ed and we’re going to go on to Kentucky next week,” Auton said.