The weekend has gone sideways for the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet of Michael McDowell, and not on the track.
McDowell's car failed inspection three different times, which means they have several penalties coming their way.
First of all, No. 71 car chief Travis Young has been ejected for the remainder of the race weekend. Secondly, they were not permitted to take part in qualifying, and will start last (38th) in Sunday's NASCAR Cup race.
However, it doesn't stop there. Once the green flag flies, McDowell will have to serve a pass-through penalty, and could fall close to a lap down in the process.
McDowell enters this race 21st in the championship standings, 32 points below the Chase cut-line.
Larson tech issues
Additionally, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson failed twice, so car chief Jesse Saunders has been ejected and he will lost pit stall selection. They passed on the third attempt, so there are no further penalties and he gets to keep his starting position.
The loss of pit stall selection will hurt a bit more as Larson qualified on the outside of the front row, so he would have had a great pit stall for Sunday's race without the penalty.
Denny Hamlin secured pole position for NASCAR's long-awaited return to Chicagoland after seven years away, besting Larson by just 0.001s. The race starts at 6pm EST on Sunday, as part of three consecutive weeks with Sunday night Cup races.
