NASCAR Cup Series team hit with DOUBLE penalty at Gateway

A NASCAR Cup Series team have been hit with a slam-dunk double penalty ahead of Sunday's race action at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway).

The Enjoy Illinois 300 marks the second race of the 2025 Cup Series playoffs and is set to see 36 drivers compete across 240 laps on Sunday afternoon (3pm ET, USA).

Ahead of this weekend's action, however, one driver and team have been dealt a double punishment after their car failed pre-race technical inspection at the track.

The car in question is the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford driven by Cole Custer.

As a result of their infringement, the No. 41 team are now one crew member short having had engineer Marc Hendricksen ejected for the remainder of the event, whilst Custer and his team have also lost their pit stall selection for the race.

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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 or more, punishments are handed out, such as in the case of Haas Factory Team and the No. 41 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 the car.

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

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