NASCAR: Failure of post-race inspection to result in disqualification in 2019
NASCAR announced that there will be complete disqualification for all drivers who fail post-race inspection beginning in the 2019 season.
On Monday afternoon, NASCAR made several announcements in regards to the upcoming 2019 season. One of the announcement pertains to post-race inspection. Beginning in the 2019 season, all drivers who fail post-race inspection will be completely disqualified from the race.
Yes, even the race winner.
Here is what Steve O’Donnell, the NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, had to say about the matter on Monday, according to Yahoo Sports.
"“We’re changing the culture. We’ve tried to do one way, and it hasn’t worked.”"
As mentioned in an article published by Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg, former Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick failed post-race inspection twice last season, both times following wins. As a result, fines and points-reduction penalties were issued, but Harvick remained credited with the win.
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In the future, the second place finisher will be credited as the new race winner.
On top of the newly announced penalties, NASCAR additionally announced that post-race inspection will be conducted much sooner. The first place finisher, second place finisher and a randomly selected car will be inspected at the track following the race.
This will lead to penalties coming much sooner. Previously, full post-race inspections took place at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina and penalties were not announced until these inspections took place on the Wednesday after the race.
Steven Miller, the NASCAR senior vice president of competition, also stated that this rule change comes as a deterrent for breaking the rules and that it also comes as a result of concern from the sport’s fanbase.
Fox Sports NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass had a very interesting take on this matter penalties following the announcement about it.
I love the fact #NASCAR will do postrace tech Sundays. Also like fact it will DQ. I don't think it will stop teams from trying to cheat, especially after 1 win. With no suspensions, 1 DQ during regular season might be considered worth the risk just to see what #NASCAR will catch.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 4, 2019
After considering what Pockrass had to offer up, I truly couldn’t agree more. For guys who are already qualified for the playoffs, looking for an advantage over the competition entering the playoffs really cannot have a price tag placed upon it.
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For myself personally, I look for crew chiefs such as Rodney Childers, Cole Pearn, Adam Stevens and Chad Knaus to keep doing anything they can in search of a competitive advantage once they have a reserved seat for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.