NASCAR
Bob Pockrass, NASCAR 5y

NASCAR penalizes Kyle Larson, fines crew chief and suspends car chief

Kyle Larson already faced a likely must-win situation Sunday at Kansas Speedway, and his playoff chances took another hit after NASCAR penalized him 10 points for his team's use of unapproved metal tabs while repairing his vehicle during Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway.

The 10-point penalty dropped Larson (11th in the standings) from 26 points behind the current playoff cutoff to 36 points out heading into Sunday's elimination race. Of the 12 playoff drivers entering that race, NASCAR will eliminate the four who have the fewest points and are winless in the three-race round.

Chip Ganassi Racing said Thursday that it will appeal the penalty. The appeal will be heard Friday morning at Kansas Speedway. 

"After reviewing the penalty, the rule and the procedure that we used during the race in Talladega, we feel strongly that we did nothing wrong," the team said.

NASCAR has an expedited appeals process for these situations.

NASCAR also fined Larson crew chief Chad Johnston $25,000 and suspended car chief David Bryant for one race.

In examining the car after the race, NASCAR determined that Larson's team used unapproved metal tabs to repair the car after a blown tire and spin on Lap 104. The use of those metal tabs violated the damaged vehicle policy, which requires all parts must be reattached with only fasteners and/or tape.

If NASCAR had noticed the violation when the team was making the repairs, it could have parked Larson and he would have finished 40th -- 29 spots (and 29 points) worse than his 11th-place finish. If seen early enough, NASCAR also possibly could have told the team not to use the unapproved metal tabs and allowed it to try to fix the car properly in its six-minute window to do so.

Even without the penalty, Larson faced long odds to advance without a win Sunday at Kansas. The most points a driver who finishes second in a race can earn (including wins in the first two stages) is 55 points.

Larson is winless this year, but he did lead 101 laps at Kansas in May on his way to a fourth-place finish.

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