Elliott’s No. 9 fails pre-qualifying inspection twice at Las Vegas

The No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Chase Elliott failed pre-qualifying inspection twice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday. As a result, car chief Matt Barndt has been ejected for the weekend. Elliott will also lose 15 minutes of practice time next weekend at Auto Club Speedway. RELATED: Rain impacts Saturday on-track Las Vegas schedule The No. 9 car passed inspection on its third try, meaning Elliott avoided having to start from the rear in Sunday's Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX/FOX Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled to qualify Saturday at 2:35 p.m. ET (FS1/FOX Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Elliott finished 17th in last week's season-opening Daytona 500. LAS VEGAS: Full schedule | At-track gallery | NASCAR on TV Also, the No. 51 Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet of Garrett Smithley failed Saturday's pre-qualifying inspection three times and will drop to the rear to start Sunday's race. A crew member will be ejected, too. The entry will then be docked a total of 30 minutes next weekend at Auto Club.