William Byron faces significant challenges ahead of the race following technical infractions.
Pre-Race Technical Issues
[IMAGE0CONTEXT:bmw_unknown] William Byron drives the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. According to a statement from NASCAR, the #24 team made unauthorized modifications after undergoing pre-race technical inspections. “On their second attempt through inspections after passing all stations, they were observed making an unapproved adjustment to the splitter,” NASCAR noted. “The struts were reinstalled, and the car was rerun over the USS and failed due to the adjustment.”
Consequences for the Team
As a result of these infractions, Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle, has been ejected from the event. The team has also lost its pit selection, forcing them to start from the back of the field for the 160-lap race scheduled for Sunday (AEST). Byron, who initially qualified to start eighth, will now begin the race in 40th place and must serve a stop-and-go penalty after the green flag drops.
Team Adjustments
In Fugle’s absence, Brandon McSwain will step up from race engineer to crew chief for the Daytona weekend. Additionally, Shane van Gisbergen is set to line up 16th in the #88 Trackhouse Racing Camaro, while Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney will start on pole in the #12 Ford Mustang. Another team, BJ McLeod, also faced penalties as his car chief, Lee Leslie, was ejected for failing inspection twice, resulting in a loss of pit selection.
Sunday’s race is set to commence at 9:55 AM AEST.