AVONDALE, Ariz. – Justin Allgaier could lose his crew chief Jason Burdett for the most important race of the season after his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet failed post-race inspection following Saturday afternoon’s Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
The Riverton, Ill. native finished 10th in the penultimate NASCAR XFINITY Series race of the season, good enough to send Allgaier and his JR Motorsports into the Championship 4 next weekend at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, however, NASCAR found Allgaier’s car to have a brake cooling hose unattached setting the tone for an L1 penalty.
The minimum penalty for the infraction would be a 10-point deduction and a one-race suspension for Burdett. The points deduction, however, would not impact Allgaier’s spot in the Nov. 18 championship race.
NASCAR announced after the race that the No. 7 team would be given an L1 penalty and under an expedited measure, the infringement should be set at the minimum tone.
Last November, JR Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler lost his crew chief Kevin Meendering for the season finale after his No. 1 Chevrolet team had two unsecured lug nuts after the Phoenix race. Sadler finished third at Homestead losing the championship to race winner Daniel Suarez.
Allgaier who was also in the championship hunt in 2016 finished sixth in the Ford EcoBoost 300 but placed third overall in points behind champion Suarez and Sadler.
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