Martin Truex Jr., AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher will all be starting from the rear of the field in Sunday’s Daytona 500. The three cars failed to meet the minimums heights Thursday in post-race inspection.
Truex finished seventh in the first Duel, Buescher 16th. Allmendinger came home fourth in the second Duel. In addition to going to the rear, Truex and Allmendinger both lose the points they earned for their respective finishes. Thursday nights races marked the first time in NASCAR’s modern era that points were awarded for the twin qualifying races.
Truex and his Furniture Row Racing team had issues in inspections during opening day at Daytona last week. According to the team, a miscommunication occurred and they were using the wrong templates at the shop. Crew chief Cole Pearn was among team members who flew back to Denver Monday to correct the issue and help prepare the cars for the second race of the season at Atlanta.
Sunday’s Daytona 500 is at 2 p.m. ET, on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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