NASCAR Cup Series star disqualified after Charlotte for bizarre reason

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs delivered wild drama at the Charlotte Roval on Sunday - including a bizarre post-race disqualification.

While the current postseason format may be hated by most fans and analysts, nobody could argue it did not provide high drama at the Bank of America Roval 400.

We had three-time champion Joey Logano somehow surviving to the Round of 8 with a little help from Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin.

We had two-time Cup series champion Kyle Busch finding the wall on the very first corner of the day, and then being told he should retire (another twist on this to follow later in this article…).

That was just during the on-track action, we still had drama to unpack once the race was over, namely when NASCAR began its postrace inspections.

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Riley Herbst car DSQ at the Roval

Now regular fans will already know this, casuals may not, but each car MUST be a minimum weight when they are inspected by NASCAR officials once the race is over. That weight is 3200lbs (dry and without the driver), and 23XI Racing star Riley Herbst’s No. 35 Toyota was officially UNDER.

A statement issued read: “NASCAR officials have disqualified the No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota, driven by Riley Herbst, after the car failed to make minimum weight after Sunday’s Cup Series race at the Charlotte Roval.”

This was the latest miserable moment in a grim year for the underperforming Herbst, who just happened to be the man who had suggested that ‘maybe (Kyle Busch) should retire’ after contact from the two-time Cup Series king early on Sunday.

There was also delicious irony here in the fact that Busch has only recently been tipped to replace Herbst at 23XI in 2026.

Herbst had also endured a rough moment earlier in his Charlotte weekend when he crashed during Practice on Saturday.

The 26-year-old from Las Vegas had finished 30th before his disqualification on Sunday, and his demotion did not impact the Cup Series playoff standings in any way.

This was the second consecutive Roval race where NASCAR had disqualified a car for being under weight - last year a similar penalty ended Alex Bowman’s playoff hopes.

The trouble may not end there for Herbst and 23XI - the No. 35 car has also been summoned to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

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