As expected, NASCAR penalized Richard Petty Motorsports on Wednesday because the team’s No. 43 Ford failed to pass NASCAR’s Laser Inspection Station on Sunday, following Aric Almirola’s fourth-place finish in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Almirola’s crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, was suspended for three races and fined $65,000. As part of the penalty, Almirola was docked 35 driver points and the team lost 35 owner points.
The penalties for the infraction are identical to ones handed out earlier this year to Team Penske after the Phoenix race, when Brad Keselowski’s car did not pass LIS.
Inspection Measurements.