NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson disqualified after failing post-race inspection
By Asher Fair
Jimmie Johnson’s #48 Chevrolet has failed post-race inspection at Charlotte Motor Speedway, disqualifying him from the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson ran well all night long on Sunday night and into Monday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway en route to a second place finish in the Coca-Cola 600, his best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series since his most recent win at Dover International Speedway in June of 2017.
But it was all for nothing.
Johnson’s #48 Chevrolet has failed post-race inspection following the 405-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Concord, North Carolina.
Officials said that the #48 Ally Financial Chevrolet failed the Optical Scanning Station (OSS) portion of the technical inspection. The car failed rear alignment numbers in this inspection.
Cup Series director Jay Fabian says Jimmie Johnson’s car failed the rear alignment numbers in the OSS. NASCAR gives a “pretty decent tolerance” for postrace numbers “and this was outside of that.”
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) May 25, 2020
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Brad Keselowski’s #2 Ford passed post-race inspection, giving the Team Penske driver his first win in over a year. Johnson’s disqualification promotes teammate Chase Elliott to second place after he lost what appeared to be a sure win by pitting for new tires during the last caution flag period.
Elliott had led the race handily over Keselowski in second place before that caution flag flew with just two laps remaining in what was originally slated to be a 400-lap race.
Johnson’s disqualification also has major implication as far as Wednesday’s 208-lap Also Uniforms 500 at the track is concerned. The starting lineup for that race is set to based on the finishing order of the Coca-Cola 600. The drivers who finished in the top 20 are set to start in the top 20, but in reverse order.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman originally finished in 20th place in his #88 Chevrolet, while teammate William Byron originally finished in 21st in his #24 Chevrolet. Bowman is now scored in 19th while Byron is scored in 20th, meaning that Byron is set to start from the pole position alongside Bowman on the front row.
Here are the updated full results of the 2020 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Race results
1st – Brad Keselowski
2nd – Chase Elliott
3rd – Ryan Blaney
4th – Kyle Busch
5th – Kevin Harvick
6th – Martin Truex Jr.
7th – Kurt Busch
8th – Tyler Reddick
9th – Christopher Bell
10th – Chris Buescher
11th – Erik Jones
12th – Cole Custer
13th – Joey Logano
14th – Austin Dillon
15th – Aric Almirola
16th – John Hunter Nemechek
17th – Matt DiBenedetto
18th – Michael McDowell
19th – Alex Bowman
20th – William Byron
21st – Ross Chastain
22nd – Ryan Preece
23rd – Corey LaJoie
24th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
25th – Ty Dillon
26th – Matt Kenseth
27th – Ryan Newman
28th – Daniel Suarez
29th – Denny Hamlin
30th – Brennan Poole
31st – Gray Gaulding
32nd – B.J. McLeod
33rd – Garrett Smithley
34th – Timmy Hill
35th – Quin Houff
36th – Joey Gase
37th – J.J. Yeley
38th – Bubba Wallace
39th – Clint Bowyer
40th – Jimmie Johnson
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Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET this Wednesday, May 27 for the live broadcast of the 2020 Alsco Uniforms 500 from Charlotte Motor Speedway.