DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A large change has occurred in the finishing order of the Duel races at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR has disqualified Beard Motorsports and driver Anthony Alfredo.
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Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran met with media members on Thursday night and provided more information. He said that the No. 62 Chevrolet had failed post-race inspection due to an issue with a cooling hose.
As this was a qualifying session/race, the disqualification was not appealable. Alfredo dropped to the rear of the field, which took him out of the Daytona 500. BJ McLeod and Live Fast Motorsports replaced him after passing post-race inspection.
"During inspection, we noticed this hose, which is a transmission cooling transaxle cooling hose," Moran said. "Comes off of the right side quarter window, and it's supposed to go into the transaxle cooler. It needs to be airtight, needs to be fastened. We have many rules, as you all know, that no parts can fall off the car for obvious reasons.
"We don't say what the intent is, but these parts have to be fastened properly. Unfortunately this one piece wasn't on the right side. There was also another hose disconnected for driving cooling, which affects airflow. Superspeedway, we all know the importance of that.
"It's unfortunate. It was during the qualifying race, which we consider qualifying per our rule book. It was similar to the 4's time being disallowed. In this case here, with it being a qualifying race, he was put to the back of the field, which would take him out of the 500."
Moran added that teams have multiple ways of attaching these hoses. Some use tape and rivets. He said that Beard Motorsports only used tape and that it did not last through the 60-lap race.
Moran also noted that NASCAR did not view this as an intentional move by the small team. Ultimately, intent does not matter in the inspection process. The No. 62 still failed.
