Furniture Row Racing said Monday it will accept whatever penalty NASCAR hands down after the team failed post-race inspection Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.
But, in a statement, the team also said Martin Truex Jr.'s race-winning No. 78 Toyota likely failed at the laser-inspection station due to damages sustained when it was hit by Kevin Harvick's No. 4 Chevy during the race.
"The right rear of our car was well within the tolerance margin, which showed that we were trying to be conservative," Furniture Row's statement said. "However, the left-rear wheel alignment was off by approximately 10-thousandths of an inch, which in high probability was due to damage in that area as a result of being hit by the No. 4 car.
"We believe the laser inspection numbers were correct and accept NASCAR's decision."
Truex will likely be docked points for the infraction, which won't effect his status in the Chase. He clinched a spot in the second round with the victory.
After the race, Truex said he didn't know why Harvick hit him.
"Nothing led up to it," Truex said. "We hadn't been around each other all day really. I passed him once earlier. He was behind me out on a restart probably 15 laps or so into a run. He got underneath me. We come off of (Turn 2). We're going down the backstretch, he hit me in the left rear as we were going straight for no reason.
"The reason I thought it was intentional is because we were on the straightaway. Typically, it's real easy not to run into somebody's left rear on the straightaway. As far as I could tell, he did it on purpose. All I can do is assume that and wait for him to tell me otherwise."
Harvick, who finished 20th, was not available for comment after the race.
Jimmie Johnson, who finished 12th, also failed post-race inspection and will also likely be docked points. The penalties are expected to be announced Wednesday.
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