By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
Inspection issues at Auto Club Speedway during Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying plagued 13 drivers on Friday afternoon.
The 13 drivers that did not make a time are Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Clint Boywer, Jimmie Johnson, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Kasey Kahne, Daniel Suarez, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Ross Chastain, Timmy Hill and Cole Whitt
As a result, all 13 drivers will start from the rear of the field. Richard Buck, managing director for the Cup series, will allow the 24 teams that did make a lap in qualifying to purchase a new set of tires to start the race on Sunday with. In order to use that option, teams must not run those tires in practice on Saturday, but return them to Goodyear. The tire allotment for the race remains at 10 sets.
According to NASCAR’s Scott Miller, the 13 teams being unable to pass the new optical scanning system on the first time is frustrating.
“Absolutely. It 100 percent frustrates me. But we are in the business of putting on a show for everybody that watches our sport. This is not a great story. It is frustrating to me that we can’t seem to get over this hump,” Miller stated.
The issues in inspection spanned a wide variety of places on the car, per a NASCAR spokesperson.