NASCAR bans William Byron from Brickyard qualifying; failed prerace inspection 3 times
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Four-time race winner William Byron will be forced to start from the back of the field in Sunday’s Brickyard 200 after failing prerace inspection three times on Friday.
NASCAR officials barred the No. 24 Chevrolet from Saturday’s qualifying session.
Byron’s car chief also was ejected for the rest of this weekend and Byron must serve a pass-thru penalty after taking the green flag. The team also cannot choose its pit stall for race day.
“Unfortunately, after passing on the fourth attempt, the @Hendrick24Team will lose a crew member, as well as there will be no attempt to qualify and a pass through under green for this weekend’s race at @IMS,” Hendrick Motorsports posted on social media.
The 25-year-old Byron has won more races this season than any other Cup driver and heads into the weekend third in the standings with three races left in the regular season.
It’s not the first time the Hendricks Motorsports driver has been penalized for failing inspection. He also failed three inspections last September at Talladega.