NASCAR Cup Series team hit with double penalty ahead of Coca Cola 600

A NASCAR Cup Series team has been hit with a double penalty ahead of this weekend's Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Qualifying for the race took place on Saturday afternoon, with Chase Briscoe winning pole, just edging Hendrick Motorsports duo Kyle Larson and William Byron to do so.

READ MORE: NASCAR Race Today: Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

However, ahead of that qualifying session, it has emerged that one Cup Series team failed pre-race technical inspection twice, which automatically results in a double penalty.

Michael McDowell and his No. 71 Spire Motorsports crew are the team in question, and as a result, one of their crew members must be ejected, whilst they have also lost their pit selection for Sunday's race.

With plenty of pit-stops expected in the 600-mile event, the latter of those could prove particularly punishing.

READ MORE: NASCAR announce driver DISQUALIFICATION at Charlotte due to illegal car

What is NASCAR tech?

Every weekend, no matter the race, track, or event, NASCAR requires all Cup Series teams to pass inspection before hitting the circuit.

If a team fails tech on the first instance, it must fix the issue and repeat the process all over again until it passes.

If a car fails once, there is no punishment. However, if you fail twice, punishments are handed out, such as in McDowell and the No. 71 team's case above.

According to NASCAR, the point of inspections is to level the sport's playing field as much as possible.

The website also outlines the five stations of a standard inspection, which are as follows:

Station 1: Car is elevated to visually inspect the nose, under the body and inside.

Stations 2-3: Body is visually inspected using a handheld template to ensure the body conforms to regulations.

Station 4: Optical scanning is used to inspect the chassis and body of car.

Station 5: Holding blocks are removed and final safety inspection is done.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series team hit with double penalty ahead of Coca Cola 600

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