For the second week in a row, three of the four Joe Gibbs Racing cars have had issues clearing NASCAR technical inspection. Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, the cars of Chase driver Kyle Busch and his teammates Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones went through the tech inspection multiple times without being cleared by the NASCAR officials.
According to FOXSports.com’s Tom Jensen, the issue with Busch’s car was with the rear end skew and the left rear toe, while the issue with Hamlin’s car was with the camber.
As of 1:05 p.m. ET, the cars of Busch and Hamlin had cleared the inspection process, but crews were still working on Jones’ No. 20 Toyota. By 1:20 p.m. ET, Jones’ car had cleared tech and was pushed to the starting grid.
A NASCAR official said the three teams would not face a points penalty for Sunday’s issue, and they would not confirm how many times the cars passed through the inspection process.
Last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, the cars of Busch, Hamlin and Carl Edwards also had issues clearing pre-race NASCAR technical inspection. NASCAR officials said the splitters on those three cars were too thick and the sanctioning body confiscated the three splitters.
Despite the issue, none of the three teams were penalized and were allowed to retain their starting spot on the grid.
The crew for the No. 18 Toyota of Kyle Busch works on the car prior to Sunday’s race at Phoenix.
