No. 5 Cup Series team penalized at EchoPark Speedway after pre-race inspection failures

Officials penalized the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after two pre-race inspection failures Friday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway), NASCAR confirmed Friday night after the team posted on X. As a result, driver Kyle Larson will lose car chief Jesse Saunders and forfeit pit selection for the weekend. RELATED: Full lineup for Atlanta | Build your In-Season Challenge bracket! In seven races on the reconfigured 1.5-mile drafting track, Larson has five finishes of 30th or worse, but came home third in this year's spring race. He sits second in points, trailing teammate William Byron by 54 markers. Saturday's In-Season Challenge opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).