TALLADEGA, Ala. — The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Kevin Harvick was disqualified Sunday evening in post-race inspection after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Talladega Superspeedway.
Harvick had just crossed under the checkered flag with an apparent second-place finish to Ryan Blaney in his final Talladega race as Harvick wraps up his final Cup Series campaign. But his No. 4 entry was found in violation of Sections 14.5.6.2.F and 14.1.E and P; the former states that “windshield fasteners must remain secure for the entire Event,” and the latter section pertains to “Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules.”
RESULTS: Talladega results | At-track photos: Talladega
The ruling demoted Harvick to a last-place finish in the 38-car field for the YellaWood 500, and all other finishers behind him move up one position each. He also relinquished the three stage points earned for an eighth-place finish after Stage 1.
William Byron moved up to second place behind Blaney in the revised results. No other infractions were found in post-race inspection, confirming Blaney’s second win of the season.
On Monday afternoon, Stewart-Haas Racing issued a statement from chief competition officer Greg Zipadelli confirming the organization will not appeal the penalty.
“At the completion of the race, not all of our windshield fasteners were secure, as we had bolts that hold the windshield in place back out over the course of the 500 miles,” Zipadelli said in the team’s statement. “We are in the process of diagnosing why this happened and how to prevent it moving forward.
“We are disappointed in NASCAR’s decision to disqualify our race car and the hard-earned finish by our driver and team, but we will not appeal. Our complete focus is on the remaining races on this year’s schedule.”
The Cup Series returns to action with the final race of the Round of 12 Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).