Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell was the only driver who was penalized as a result of a pre-race infraction ahead of Sunday night's Chicagoland Speedway NASCAR Cup Series race.
The driver of the No. 71 Chevrolet was forced to serve a drive-through penalty during the eero 400's first green flag lap, which ended up being a few laps after the race actually started due to a lap one incident involving RFK Racing's Ryan Preece and Trackhouse Racing's Connor Zilisch.
The No. 71 car failed inspection three times before Saturday's qualifying session, and McDowell did not turn a qualifying lap. He was one of two drivers who did not post a qualifying speed, so he was set to start 37th in the 38-car field anyway. He finished one lap off the lead lap in 29th and is now 21st in the point standings, 34 points below the playoff cut line.
Kyle Larson not penalized before Chicagoland
Hendrick Motorsports also made a change on Kyle Larson's No. 5 Chevrolet before the 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Joliet, Illinois oval. But Larson, who qualified second behind only Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, was not forced to drop to the rear of the field after his team changed the front brake rotors on the No. 5 car.
While many pre-race, post-qualifying adjustments are deemed unapproved adjustments and result in the car dropping to the tail end of its starting lane before the green flag, Larson was allowed to retain his front row starting spot since the change was considered a "safety issue".
It's certainly not the first time this issue has been considered an allowable change and gone unpenalized, although it does beg the question as to what is really considered a "safety issue" and what isn't when it comes to changing parts on a race car. Quite frankly, literally everything could inherently be considered a safety issue, when it all boils down to it.
Larson led 23 laps, but he was never able to recover after an early incident. He finished the race, but he was 34th. He was eliminated in his In-Season Challenge matchup against teammate William Byron, who finished fourth. Larson is still seeking his first win since May 2025, despite winning the 2025 championship in November. He dropped from fourth to sixth in the point standings.
EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) is scheduled to host the next race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The Quaker State 400 is set to be shown live on TNT beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 12. Don't miss the third race of this year's In-Season Challenge tournament!
