Three cars failed pre-race inspection for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the issues in the inspection bay will potentially impact all three teams’ chances at snagging a win in the race.
The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team, the No. 23 23XI Racing team, and the No. 31 Kaulig Racing team were all flagged multiple times in pre-race inspection following Saturday’s qualifying session at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
As a result, all three teams will lose a team member for the weekend and all three will also lose their pit selection as well.
The No. 8 team has lost its car chief Clay Alexander, the No. 23 team has lost its car chief Zachary Marquardt and the No. 31 team has lost its engineer Garrett Peterson for the remainder of the race weekend.
While that is a big impact to the teams, perhaps the bigger impact is the loss of pit selection. As a result, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Justin Haley will get the three least preferred pit stalls on pit road for the Quaker State 400.
At the superspeedway-style Atlanta Motor Speedway, tenths of a second mean a whole lot. Any lost time on pit road will serve as a massive penalty in Sunday’s race.
Haley will start highest in the field of the three drivers impacted, as he’ll roll from the starting grid in the 17th position. Kyle Busch will start from the 22nd starting spot on Sunday and Bubba Wallace was unable to complete a lap in qualifying and was scheduled to start last.
