Stewart-Haas Racing certainly has made a bad name for itself in the era of the Next Gen car.
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Two drivers from the four-car stable have been handed a heavy punishment after they were found to have illegal equipment on their cars before Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Ford, and Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Ford, have each been penalized 35 points for illegal roof air deflectors, which were taken by NASCAR during Friday's inspection.
NASCAR released an official statement via X as the teams were both issued an L1-level penalty.
NEWS: The Nos. 10 and 41 cars have been issued L1-level penalties for improper roof air deflectors.
The teams have been assessed with the loss of 35 driver and owner points. pic.twitter.com/tftPEGwNxO
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 27, 2024
"The Nos. 10 and 41 cars have been issued L1-level penalties for improper roof air deflectors. The teams have been assessed with the loss of 35 driver and owner points," NASCAR said.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, had previously hinted at a potential punishment while chatting with Sportsnaut's Matt Weaver early Tuesday morning before the punishment was officially announced.
"Obviously, that's not a Next Gen certified (spec) part," Sawyer said. "It's a team part but it has to meet the CAD drawing. And in this case, it didn't meet that."
This marks the third straight year that SHR has found two of its teams losing major points early in the season because of an illegal part being found on their race cars.
In 2023, Chase Briscoe was handed a serious L3-level penalty after they used counterfeit parts on his car for the Coca-Cola 600. That penalty was one of the largest penalties in NASCAR history.
It is clear that Stewart-Haas Racing has some parts issues, and it starting to become a pattern.
Gragson and Preece now find themselves at the bottom of the standings following the 35-point deduction. And after a rough outing in Atlanta, they have a lot of work to do.
Whatever is going on sure isn't helping them win, as they haven't won a Cup race since 2022.
