Inspection Complete: Martin Truex Jr. Officially Wins Richmond, Erik Jones Disqualified
Post-race technical inspection following Saturday night’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway has been completed. Martin Truex Jr.’s race-winning No. 19 Toyota Camry has passed inspection and he has been declared the official winner of the race by NASCAR.
Unfortunately, for Joe Gibbs Racing and Erik Jones, the organization’s sweep of the top-four positions will not stand as Jones’ car has failed post-race inspection.
According to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Jimmy Makar, the No. 20 car failed tech due to the rear toe being out of tolerance.
Jones will be credited with a last-place finish on a night where he had crossed the line in the fourth spot and looked to turn around his post-season fortunes after a mechanical failure at Las Vegas Motor Speedway put him in a deep points hole.
Now, Jones will face a must-win situation at the Charlotte Motor Speedway if he wants to continue to battle for a championship. The team does not seem to be expecting to appeal the penalty.
No other issues were discovered for any other cars in post-race inspection.
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Toby Christie View All
Toby is the Founder, Editor and go-to man for TobyChristie.com. He is also the co-host of The Final Lap Weekly Podcast. Additionally, Toby is a NMPA (National Motorsports Press Association) award winning writer, and has followed NASCAR as a fan since 1993.
Oh man, this is so sad……First dq for the year…..have to do my pool sheets all over again, but I deserve that. I should have waited until tech was over. sigh