RFK Racing and Team Penske are taking their respective NASCAR penalties from Talladega Superspeedway on the proverbial chin.
What does this mean exactly?
Let’s delve into by far the biggest story coming out of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the high-banked, high-speed Talladega trioval.
NASCAR Cracks The Whip On Ryan Preece, Joey Logano And Their Teams
When the race ended around dinner time Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, both Ryan Preece and Joey Logano had reason to feel good.
While neither celebrated a win, as was the case for Logano’s Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric, Preece and Logano fared pretty well, all things considered.
On the way to taking the checkered flag a career-best second in NASCAR’s premier series, Preece led six laps in his No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. Reigning Cup Series champion Logano, meanwhile, led 24 laps in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford en route to finishing fifth. Perhaps the even better news for both drivers was that they managed to avoid more than one multi-car wreck, which put others’ hopes of a positive outcome on ice.
But at approximately 9:15 p.m. EST on Sunday, NASCAR delivered some bad news to the teams of Preece and Logano. In short, NASCAR disqualified both drivers — stripping them of their finishes and leaving them last and next-to-last, respectively, in the official race results.
The reason for the NASCAR disqualification? The Fords of Preece and Logano both flunked post-race inspection because NASCAR found an issue with their rear spoiler.
Any type of spoiler tampering or irregularity is a big no-no anytime anywhere, but that’s especially true at superspeedways like Talladega. That’s because, at superspeedways, teams want their spoiler to sit as low in the air as possible. A low spoiler reduces the “drag” on the car, making it go faster.
The most surprising aspect of Sunday’s penalties wasn’t the penalties themselves, but how the teams reacted, however.
Shockingly, Both Team Penske And RFK Racing Accept NASCAR Penalties
Sunday night, not all that long after NASCAR announced the disqualification of the No. 22 and No. 60 cars, Team Penske revealed it would not seek to overturn the penalty on appeal. Then, on Monday evening, RFK Racing indicated the same.
From the statements below, it’s clear that neither team admits to deliberately trying to cheat up their vehicle. But it’s also clear that neither team thought it had a strong case to make to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel, which occasionally does overturn or reduce NASCAR penalties.
So, a seemingly solid afternoon at Talladega for Preece and Logano went south in a hurry for both drivers. And unfortunately for them and their fans, it’s going to stay that way.
Team Penske statement on disqualification of No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang this evening at Talladega: pic.twitter.com/2MTzjdUytV
— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) April 28, 2025
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) April 28, 2025
