UPDATE: Saturday, September 27, 2025, at 4:49 PM ET
NASCAR has confirmed that Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing team will incur the same penalties issued to Michael McDowell and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports team due to a similar infraction at Kansas Speedway on Saturday afternoon.
Van Gisbergen’s No. 88 Chevrolet was determined to have unapproved adjustments between passing pre-race inspection and the start of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series practice session at the 1.5-mile speedway.
As a result, van Gisbergen’s crew chief, Stephen Doran, has been ejected for the remainder of the race weekend, the No. 88 team will suffer a loss of pit selection, the No. 88 will be required to drop to the rear of the field prior to Sunday’s green flag, and van Gisbergen will need to perform a stop-and-go penalty after taking the green flag in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.
ORIGINAL STORY: Saturday, September 27, 202,5 at 1:44 PM ET
It is going to be an uphill battle for last week’s eighth-place finisher, Michael McDowell, and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports team this weekend in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway after the team was busted for an unapproved adjustment during pre-race inspection on Saturday afternoon.
According to NASCAR, McDowell’s No. 71 Chevrolet passed inspection initially on the first try, but after the car was through inspection, NASCAR officials noticed what appeared to be an unapproved adjustment to the front splitter on the car.
After being sent back to the inspection bay, McDowell’s car had the inspection struts reinstalled, and the car was re-run over the USS (Underbody Scanning Station), where the car failed.
As a result of the unapproved adjustment, which was caught by NASCAR, McDowell’s team will incur several penalties heading into Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400.
Travis Peterson, the crew chief of the No. 71 team, has been ejected for the remainder of the race weekend. The No. 71 team will lose pit selection and will have to start at the rear of the field on Sunday, regardless of where they rank in Saturday’s qualifying session. Additionally, McDowell will be required to perform a stop-and-go penalty after taking the green flag on Sunday.
If McDowell is to have a shot at the win on Sunday, he’ll likely need the help of an early-race caution.
McDowell, who failed to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs this season, ranks 25th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings heading into Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.
Additionally, Cody Ware’s No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford failed pre-race inspection twice. As a result of the multiple inspection failures, car chief Dave Jones has been ejected from Kansas Speedway, and the team will lose its pit selection for Sunday’s race.
Ware is the 36th-place driver in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series driver standings through the opening 30 races of the season.
