Johnson DQ’ed after failing post-race tech inspection
What was appearing to be a strong second-place finish for Jimmie Johnson in his final Coca-Cola 600 as a full-time Cup Series driver ended up backfiring for the seven-time champion when his no. 48 Chevrolet failed post-race tech inspection.
Johnson will be disqualified from Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 after failing tech inspection and be put in last place of the finishing order. This means that Johnson will receive last place points and relinquish the 11 stage points he earned Sunday.
According to NASCAR Cup Series managing director Jay Fabian, the error for Johnson’s Chevrolet was in a rear alignment component that NASCAR often checks in the post-race.
“It’s the same thing that we check at least a handful of cars for post-race after every event,” Fabian said, “There is a pre-race number and a post-race number that does give a pretty decent tolerance. It was outside of those post-race numbers.”
The unusual circumstances of a more-condensed Cup schedule will still allow the no. 48 team to file an appeal of the penalty, under the rules of the existing penalty appeal system. However, the deadline for that appeal is yet TBA. Further penalties are yet TBA as well.
Johnson led twice for six laps in Sunday’s race and crossed the line in second behind race winner no. 2 Brad Keselowski, who passed post-race tech inspection.
Teammate no. 9 Chase Elliott will move up to second in the finishing order while teammate no. 24 William Byron will move up to 20th in the order, putting him on the pole for Wednesday’s Alsco Uniforms 500k.
Johnson now sits 15th in NASCAR Cup Series points, 4 points ahead of 17th place William Byron and 129 points behind points leader Kevin Harvick.
UPDATE (5:27 pm EST):
Per FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification penalty issued against Johnson so the penalty will stand.
SOURCES:
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com