NASCAR: Martin Truex Jr. fails Fontana inspection three times
By Asher Fair
Martin Truex Jr. is set to start the third race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season from the back after his #19 Toyota failed inspection three times.
Another NASCAR Cup Series race, another Joe Gibbs Racing inspection failure.
This week, it was the #19 Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. that failed inspection at Auto Club Speedway, and the car failed it three times.
Because Truex’s car failed inspection three times, he will not get to qualify for Sunday afternoon’s Auto Club 400 in this afternoon’s qualifying session, and he will start the race from the back of the field.
Truex car failed on third time. Expected penalty is won’t get to post qualifying time and officially will start at the back.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 29, 2020
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He will still have to pass inspection before he is allowed to compete in this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) oval in Fontana, California.
UPDATE: The #19 Toyota has passed inspection and will be allowed to compete in tomorrow afternoon’s race.
This inspection failure is the sixth “to the rear” penalty for the Toyota teams just three races into the season, and there are only six full-time Toyota entries.
It comes after the #18 Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, the #11 Toyota of teammate Denny Hamlin and the #95 Toyota of Christopher Bell, who drives for the Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Leavine Family Racing, failed inspection last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Additionally, the #11 Toyota and the #95 Toyota were sent to the rear for the start of the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway two weeks ago. The #11 Toyota failed inspection and unapproved adjustments were made to the #95 Toyota.
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Qualifying for the Auto Club 400 is currently airing live on Fox Sports 1. The race itself, the third of 36 races on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon.