{"id":251526,"date":"2026-07-05T14:36:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/05\/kyle-larson-michael-mcdowell-hit-with-penalties-ahead-of-nascar-cup-series-race-at-chicagoland\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T14:36:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:36:48","slug":"kyle-larson-michael-mcdowell-hit-with-penalties-ahead-of-nascar-cup-series-race-at-chicagoland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/05\/kyle-larson-michael-mcdowell-hit-with-penalties-ahead-of-nascar-cup-series-race-at-chicagoland\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell hit with penalties ahead of NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5187863\" data-slug-id=\"2804171\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kyle Larson and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/michael-mcdowell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Michael McDowell<\/a> have received heavy penalties by NASCAR following pre-race inspection issues ahead of Sunday\u2019s eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, creating significant setbacks for two drivers. FOX Sports\u2019s Bob Pockrass announced the penalties on X, with McDowell receiving the harsher punishment after repeated failures while Larson also faced consequences for inspection violations.<\/p>\n<p>Michael McDowell, the driver of the #71 Chevrolet for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/team\/spire-motorsports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Spire Motorsports<\/a>, endured a difficult start to the weekend after failing pre-race inspection three times. As a result, officials imposed a series of penalties that will significantly impact him before the green flag even waves.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\nThanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>McDowell was not permitted to participate in Saturday\u2019s qualifying following the repeated failures. In addition, the team\u2019s car chief Travis Young was ejected from the weekend.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>The penalties did not stop there. He will also have to start from the rear of the field and serve a pass-through penalty under green-flag conditions once the race begins, putting him at an immediate disadvantage against the rest of the drivers.<\/p>\n<p>The 44-year-old driver enters the Chicagoland race 21st in the championship standings with 32 points below the Chase bubble.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/player\/kyle-larson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Kyle Larson<\/a>\u2019s team was also penalized. His #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet car failed the inspection process on two occasions. The repeated violations resulted in the ejection of the team&#8217;s car chief, Jesse Saunders, for the remainder of the Chicagoland weekend and lost the pit stall selection.<\/p>\n<p>Taking to X, Bob Pockrass shared the pre-race inspection updates:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cFrom prequalifying Cup tech at Chicagoland: McDowell car failed three times, wasn&#8217;t allowed to qualify, will drop to rear and pass-through after taking green, car chief ejected, lost pit stall selection. &#8230; Larson car failed twice, car chief ejected, lost pit selection.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nascar\/twitter-embed\">\n<div class=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nascar\/twitter-embed\">\n<div class=\"profile-card\">\n<p><span><span>From prequalifying Cup tech at Chicagoland: McDowell car failed three times, wasn&#8217;t allowed to qualify, will drop to rear and pass-through after taking green, car chief ejected, lost pit stall selection. &#8230; Larson car failed twice, car chief ejected, lost pit selection.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, Larson qualified second after falling short by 0.001s to pole winner Denny Hamlin, who claimed his fifth pole of the season.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2><strong>Kyle Larson is among the favorites to win at Chicagoland Speedway<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>NASCAR returned to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2021, and Kyle Larson has the third highest odds, per the odds table, at +600 odds to win this weekend, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Whereas McDowell has the 20th highest odds at +20000.<\/p>\n<p>The #5 HMS star has been running consistently even though he hasn&#8217;t won this season so far. He recorded eight top-5s and 11 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 13.9 through the first 18 races this season. He currently stands fifth in the championship standings, 148 points behind leader Hamlin.<\/p>\n<p>Watch Kyle Larson in action at Chicagoland\u2019s 1.5-mile-long track on Sunday at 6 pm ET on TNT Sports and MRN.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img style=\"background: none;\" data-lazy=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Yash Soni<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/nascar\/news-kyle-larson-michael-mcdowell-hit-penalties-ahead-nascar-cup-series-race-chicagoland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kyle Larson and Michael McDowell have received heavy penalties by NASCAR following pre-race inspection issues ahead of Sunday\u2019s eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, creating significant setbacks for two drivers. FOX Sports\u2019s Bob Pockrass announced the penalties on X, with McDowell receiving the harsher punishment after repeated failures while Larson also faced consequences for inspection violations. 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