Why was Ryan Blaney disqualified after NASCAR Las Vegas race?

Sunday’s South Point 400, the opening race of the Round of 8 was a disappointing outing for Ryan Blaney and Team Penske.

Blaney had a solid car but not a spectacular day and crossed the finish line in sixth place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was disqualified by NASCAR after his #12 Ford failed the post-race technical inspection.

After a successful post-race inspection, official haulers found that Blaney’s car had a left-front shock that didn’t meet the overall specified length according to the rules. Disqualification is for violation of NASCAR Rule Book Section 14.11.3.5, which lists the minimum extended damper lengths for each shock.

As a result, Ryan Blaney lost all stage points which he earned during the race and was credited to 36th place in the final race results. The penalty drops him to last among the eight remaining playoff drivers. He goes from 17 points below the elimination line to 56 points out and is now in the position to get eliminated from the Championship 4 race if he fails to win in the remaining two races in the Round of 8.

Meanwhile, each driver saw a one spot promotion, with William Byron promoted to sixth place, followed by Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher.

According to NASCAR, Team Penske has the right to appeal the penalty and there was no response from the team till now.

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“I thought we could have maybe run third” – Ryan Blaney

Before the post-race inspection, the #12 Ford driver spoke to the media about the outcome of the race. He said that he could run third in the race given the pace he showcased at the Las Vegas.

Speaking to NBC Sports in the post-race interview, Ryan Blaney said:

“I thought we could have maybe run third. That was probably the best we were gonna get to, but lost some ground there on the last stop and ran out of laps to get it back. Overall, it wasn’t a bad effort. You’re trying to get every point that you can because all of them matter.”

Blaney also said:

“We definitely need to just work on our build and how we build loose, but our No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet was solid. The points are a lot tighter than we would want them to be, so we just have to have two good weeks, and hopefully, go to Homestead and have a little bit better long-run speed. But overall, happy with our execution.”

Watch Ryan Blaney in action next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.