Darlington Raceway’s pre‑race inspection turned a routine start into a testing moment when Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford failed twice before finally clearing the check.
Inspection hang‑up and crew removal
The team’s engineer was already ejected for the remainder of the weekend, sealing the drivers’ schedule with a miss on pit stall selection.
With the slot order reset, Penske gained only the final, 38th pit stall, a downgrade that will be felt in the fastest cuts.
Penalty risk and the deadline race
A third failure could have forced a pass‑through penalty at the start, yet the team avoided that outcome after the third inspection pass.
“Looking like we’ll be only a handful of minutes late to practice,” Blaney told USA Sports, noting the “hot out,” tight tolerances, and “good job” the crew does in real time.
Weather knocks off any delay
Lightning, however, grounded on‑track activity, sparing Blaney the training hold‑up the crew feared.
He still enters the Chase as No. 2 seed, 25 points back in the standings.
All other cars stay clean
No other Cup and NASCAR teams encountered inspection modifications, leaving Penske as the sole party with a weekend curfew.
For further context, check the video recap on how Preece’s Daytona win pushes him into the Chase.
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