NASCAR announces penalties for multiple Cup Series teams at Kansas

NASCAR has confirmed penalties for multiple Cup Series teams ahead of race action at Kansas Speedway.

The Hollywood Casino 400 marks the second race of the playoffs round of 12 and is set to see the Cup Series stars complete 267 laps around the 1.5-mile track in Kansas City on Sunday afternoon (3pm ET, USA Network).

Ahead of the race, however, three teams have been hit with multiple penalties relating to technical inspection violations.

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NASCAR penalties confirmed

Rick Ware Racing and the No. 51 crew were the first team to be punished, with their car failing pre-race inspection twice, resulting in the ejection of their car chief, Dave Jones, and the loss of their pit stall selection for Sunday's race.

Elsewhere in Kansas, Michael McDowell and his No. 71 crew at Spire Motorsports have also been punished.

Initially, the team passed inspection on its second attempt, which would normally mean that they were given the all-clear and no penalty. However, NASCAR says that 'unapproved adjustments' were then made to the front splitter of the No. 71 Chevrolet. Following those changes, the car was sent back over NASCAR's underbody scanning station and failed as a result of the adjustment that was made.

McDowell and his team have been hit with a quadruple punishment as a result. First and foremost, crew chief Travis Peterson has been ejected from the event, and the team have also lost their pit-stall selection for Sunday's race.

Not only this, but the No. 71 will be sent to the rear of the field ahead of the green flag on Sunday, and must also perform a stop-and-go penalty on pit road after taking the green flag.

Unfortunately, it doesn't end there. Shane van Gisbergen's No. 88 crew at Trackhouse Racing were also caught making unapproved adjustments to their car after passing technical inspection.

The No. 88 crew chief, Stephen Doran, has been rejected from the event as a result, and like the others above, Trackhouse and SvG have lost their pit stall selection for Sunday's event.

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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 above cases.

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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