NASCAR has announced penalties to the No. 99 team of Trackhouse Racing for an infraction at Talladega Superspeedway.
According to a bulletin, the team made an unapproved adjustment to the roof area of Daniel Suarez's Chevrolet Camaro after the car passed inspection. As a result, NASCAR ejected the car chief for the remainder of the weekend.
Additionally, Suarez will have to start Sunday's playoff race at the rear of the field. He will then serve a pass-through penalty after taking the green flag. This will take Suarez out of the draft and will likely lead to him falling one lap down if there isn't an early caution.
Aric Almirola of Joe Gibbs Racing served a similar penalty during Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Talladega. His team had a windshield infraction that dropped the veteran driver to the rear of the field.
Almirola served a pass-through penalty at the start of the race and fell one lap down. He was able to get back on the lead lap at the end of the first stage. Almirola went on to finish 19th as Sammy Smith won in overtime.
Suarez enters the playoff race in need of points. He is 10th in the playoff standings and 14 points below the cutline. Spring Talladega winner Tyler Reddick is ahead of him at minus four points while two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano is the first driver above the Round of 8 cutline.
Talladega is a track where Suarez has made 15 starts in Cup Series competition. He has four top-10 finishes and an average finish of 19.7. Three of these top-10s have been in the Next Gen era.
This infraction at Talladega Superspeedway will put Suarez at a disadvantage as he tries to remain in contention for a spot in the Round of 8. Although the pack racing and the potential wrecks will potentially provide opportunities to work back into the top 10.