Furniture Row Racing has accepted that Martin Truex Jr’s race-winning Toyota did not comply with the rules following a post-race inspection at Chicagoland.
The #78 Toyota landed the first blow in the Chase for the Sprint Cup but the victory was soured when the car failed scrutineering.
Jimmie Johnson’s #48 Chevrolet also came under fire for failing an inspection after finishing 12th.
NASCAR is expected to issue penalties for the breaches later this week although Truex Jr is unlikely to be stripped of the win given that it was deemed a low grade failure of the LIS platform (Laser Inspection).
The Furniture Row squad said that contact with Kevin Harvick (#4 Chevrolet) was the most likely reason for the Toyota failing to comply.
“The right rear of our car was well within the tolerance margin, which showed that we were trying to be conservative,” the team statement said.
“However, the left rear wheel alignment was off by approximately ten-thousandths of an inch, which in high probability was due to damage in that area as a result of being hit by the #4 car.
“We believe the laser inspection numbers were correct and accept NASCAR’s decision that was made following Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.”