NASCAR: Chase Elliott penalized following TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix

Chase Elliott has been penalized following the fourth NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, the TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix.

Chase Elliott, the driver of the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, has been issued a hefty penalty following his season-high 3rd place effort in this past Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, which was the fourth race on the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.

It was announced on Wednesday night that the #9 team received an L1-level penalty for a rear suspension violation that was discovered in post-race inspection. The team will have the option to appeal the penalty to The National Motorsports Appeals Panel, but it is unclear whether they will do so.

Here is what NASCAR.com had to say about the penalty.

"Per the NASCAR penalty report, the No. 9 team was found to have violated Section 20.14.2 of the Rule Book, which deals with rear suspension and trailing arm angles/pinion angle shims. According to the penalty report: Truck trailing arm spacer/pinion angle shim surfaces must be in complete contact at all points, at all times. Failure to adhere to that can create additional sideforce and is a violation."

As a result of this penalty, Elliott loses 25 points in the championship standings. He was previously in a 16th place tie with 91 points, but he has now dropped to 23rd place with only 66 points. The team have also been penalized 25 owner points.

Alan Gustafson, Elliott’s crew chief, has been fined $50,000, and Josh Kirk, Elliott’s car chief, has been suspended for the next two races, which are the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California this Sunday and the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia next Sunday.