NASCAR America: Scan All: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 from Chicagoland

From Jimmie Johnson‘s speeding penalty frustrations, to Kevin Harvick‘s pit road confusion, Scan All brings you the best of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Radioactive: Chicago - "No! No! There's no [expletive] way!" - 'NASCAR Race Hub'

Check out all the best scanner audio from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway

TRUEX JR. TAKES LESS, GIVES MORE TO FURNITURE ROW

JOLIET, Ill. -- How sincere was Martin Truex Jr. in his desire to stay with Furniture Row Racing during contract talks with team officials?

Enough that the 36-year-old NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver agreed to work for less than he likely could have earned elsewhere.

"There were other opportunities that were out there," Truex said Sunday after winning the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.  "I believe this is the best team I've ever had. This is my best opportunity to win races. We've proven that. It's my best opportunity, and really only my second opportunity, since last year, to go for a championship. That wasn't something I was willing to get rid of or throw away."

While Furniture Row officials were in the midst of making the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota a year ago, a contract extension with Truex was also wrapping up. In late September, officials announced both agreements were in place.

Then, in August of this year, the team announced a new, two-year extension for Truex.

RELATED: Truex inks new deal at Furniture Row

"I made the commitment to Barney we were going to do it, we were going to work together and make it work for everybody," Truex said of the arrangement. "Barney has put a lot into his race team over the years obviously. Seeing Furniture Row on that race car each and every year, that's Barney's race car and Barney is the one funding it.

"He had to change some things in the way he was running his race team. He asked me if I would kind of, not take the hit but be the one that took a little bit of a hit for the team to make sure we could keep the competition up and make sure we could continue to get the things we needed to be competitive and win races and hopefully go after a championship."

Visser started the Denver-based team from scratch in 2005, and has funded the single-car outfit for much of its existence through his own businesses.

Others have come on board to help the cause and the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota has paid tremendous dividends. Sunday's victory was the third of the season for Truex and more importantly it came in the opening race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He and the No. 78 team, run by crew chief Cole Pearn, are guaranteed to advance to the Round of 12 in the Chase.

Prior to this season, Truex had three career wins. Furniture Row had two.

The organization, which now receives technical support from Joe Gibbs Racing, will expand in 2017 with the addition of a second team and driver Erik Jones.

RELATED: Furniture Row adds Jones to growing team

The rise from a struggling single-car outfit to a championship contender didn't happen overnight.

"Yeah, I do feel like I'm living a dream," Visser, a Vietnam veteran, said. "But that's why we do it. Most of the other things that I've done in life have been a little bit like this, but nothing right to the very top of the best racing in the world here. (It's) very exciting.

"I have to thank Toyota and Martin. Like I said, I think he's a pure athlete. He drove for a little bit less this year than I think a lot of the drivers in his class have, and he did it because he wanted to be here. I can't thank him enough for all that."

NOS. 78, 48 FAIL POST-RACE INSPECTION AT CHICAGO

The No. 78 Toyota of race winner Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 48 Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson failed post-race inspection Sunday following the opening race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Both cars failed during both trips through the Laser Inspection System (LIS). Any penalties will be announced later in the week, according to NASCAR.

"It is what it is," No. 78 crew chief Cole Pearn said post-race in the Sprint Cup garage. "Kind of a bummer on the day, but whatever, you know. We'll move on. … It's just really tricky. It's just the repeatability. Things relax. It's not the stiffest suspension back there, by any means. You try to account for that and prevent it and we missed it. We missed it two weeks in a row, which is kind of crappy."

This is the second consecutive week the No. 78 failed post-race LIS.

RELATED: No. 78 fails Richmond post-race | Team assessed P2 penalty

Previous LIS violations have produced either 10- or 15-point deductions during the regular season. NASCAR recently updated its rules for "encumbered" victory penalties during the postseason, but those would not be in effect for Truex Jr. because it was the lowest grade of failure for the LIS platform.

"The right rear of our car was well within the tolerance margin, which showed that we were trying to be conservative," Furniture Row Racing announced in a team release on Monday. "However, the left rear wheel alignment was off by approximately ten-thousandths of an inch, which in high probability was due to damage in that area as a result of being hit by the No. 4 car. We believe the laser inspection numbers were correct and accept NASCAR's decision that was made following Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway."

RELATED: Read more about the rules updates

Kyle Busch's No. 18 Toyota failed its first trip through the LIS platform, but passed the second. That does not equal a failed post-race inspection.

Additionally, the No. 16 Ford of Greg Biffle was missing one lug nut after the race and the No. 43 Ford of Aric Almirola had a broken stud.

The Nos. 78, 22 (of Joey Logano) and 24 (of Chase Elliott) will undergo further scrutiny at the weekly post-race inspection at the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, on Tuesday. That event will be live-streamed on NASCAR.com.

Furniture Row Racing accepts NASCAR’s post-race inspection findings

Furniture Row Racing issued a statement Monday regarding the No. 78 of Martin Truex Jr. failing inspection following Sunday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway.

Following his win, NASCAR’s laser inspection found the left rear of Truex’ car was not within tolerated measurements. Furniture Row Racing president Joe Garone stated that the team accepted NASCAR’s ruling.

“The right rear of our car was well within the tolerance margin, which showed that we were trying to be conservative. However, the left rear wheel alignment was off by approximately 10-thousandths of an inch, which in high probability was due to damage in that area as a result of being hit by the No. 4 car. We believe the laser inspection numbers were correct and accept NASCAR’s decision that was made following Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.”

Both Truex and Jimmie Johnson failed laser inspection twice after the race. Any penalties are expected to be announced later this week. NASCAR stated Sunday that any penalty would not prevent Truex from advancing to the second round via the win.

LATE PIT STOP PROPELS TRUEX JR. TO CHICAGOLAND WIN

Martin Truex Jr. won the race off pit road on the final green-flag pit stop of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, sparking him to the win at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday.

The speedy stop propelled Truex past rookie Chase Elliott, who had led 75 laps until the caution came out on Lap 262 of the 270-lap overtime race. The race was the first of 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Joey Logano came up second in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Elliott in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Ryan Blaney in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford rounded out the top five.

Denny Hamlin, the defending race winner, finished sixth.

Kyle Busch, the reigning series champ, finished eighth.

Chase drivers Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson were saddled with obstacles to overcome before the race even started when both were sent to the rear for modifications to their cars after qualifying. Harvick had qualified fourth, while Larson was to start 10th. Harvick quickly worked his way into the top 10, but went a lap down when he came in for a green-flag pit stop when a caution came out. He fought to return to the lead lap for much of the rest of the race; he finished 20th.

The 270-lap race tied the track-low with four cautions and featured nine different leaders. Jimmie Johnson led all drivers with 118 laps led. Johnson was slapped with a penalty for speeding on pit road late in the race, that pushed him back to a 12th-place finish.

The Sprint Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend for the continuation of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in the New England 300 (Sept. 25, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

TY DILLON SUBS FOR REGAN SMITH AT CHICAGOLAND

With Regan Smith still in North Carolina due to the impending birth of his second child, Ty Dillon will pilot the No. 7 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the team announced Sunday morning.

Dillon has practiced all weekend in the No. 7 as Smith flew back to North Carolina to be with wife Megan.

Smith has made all 26 starts in the No. 7 so far this year with two top-10 finishes. Dillon has made eight starts this season in the Sprint Cup Series and served as a relief driver for Tony Stewart at Talladega in the spring.

Dillon is currently a regular in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and will participate in that series' seven-race XFINITY Series Chase, which begins next weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

Smith has taken to Twitter the past few days to keep fans updated on his status. Here are his latest posts.

NASCAR INTRODUCES RULES CHANGES FOR CHASE

NASCAR introduced rules changes for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs on Wednesday, giving competition officials the power to issue more stringent rulings on technical infractions involving post-race laser inspections and lug nuts.

The developments were announced just days before the series visits Chicagoland Speedway for Sunday's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM), the opening event in the 10-race Chase playoffs.

Similar changes, where applicable, will also be in place for the inaugural Chase events in NASCAR's XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series, which get underway in two weeks, at Kentucky and New Hampshire, respectively.

The changes allow NASCAR officials to strip race-winning teams of the benefits associated with a Chase victory, which include the automatic advancement into the next elimination round and any tiebreaker implications, should those teams fail the post-race lug-nut check or the post-race Laser Inspection Station (LIS) platform.

Previously, lug-nut infractions have resulted in a one-race suspension and a fine for the crew chief while LIS failures have carried a point deduction in the drivers' and owners' championship points, in addition to the crew chief fine.

Going into the Chase, post-race failure of the LIS platform now will be deemed a P4 level penalty if a vehicle's rear toe measurements exceed the allowed measurements on both sides.

In the Sprint Cup Series, the first violation would result in an encumbered finishing position, the loss of 35 championship driver and owner points, as well as a three-race suspension and $65,000 fine for the crew chief.

In the XFINITY Series, the penalties would be the same, but the crew chief fine would be $20,000.

The LIS platform is not a part of the NCWTS inspection process.

The penalties will be the same as those for an LIS infraction if a vehicle is found to have 17 or fewer lug nuts in place following the completion of the event (in Sprint Cup, XFINITY or Camping World Truck).

"The changes are made to assure that we have a level playing field and make sure that there's not a carrot out there for the team to have excessive violations when it comes to lug nuts and the LIS post-race measurements," Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, told NASCAR.com. "As we worked with those penalties during the season we realized we probably needed to have a little bit more in place as Chase time rolled around.

"The Chase obviously changes a lot of scenarios for both NASCAR and the teams; it's ramped up the intensity and there is a lot of scrutiny, as there is every week on everything (involving) technical infractions. This is really just a matter of us putting something in place so that should something happen, we have a means to effectively deal with it."

Miller noted that the "encumbered finish" is already a part of the NASCAR rulebook. "This just adds a little bit of definition to how we will use it moving forward," he said.

NASCAR officials cracked down on lug nut penalties with new rules this spring, making sure the wheel is securely fastened on all five studs at a pit-road checkpoint after the race. At least five teams have been found in violation during post-race inspection, including those of drivers Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) and Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing).

The LIS platform has been used to measure cars' chassis with precision since the start of the 2013 season. The majority of failures this year have centered on rear toe alignment.

Six Sprint Cup Series drivers and teams have been penalized this year for failing the LIS portion of the post-race inspection process -- Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet (Dover); Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota (New Hampshire), Brad Keselowski, Team Penske No. 2 Ford (Michigan), Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet (Darlington), Ryan Newman, Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet (Darlington) and Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota (Richmond).

Miller said he expects the rules to remain in place for the 2017 season as well.

LIS failures during pre-race inspection result in written warnings, with the potential for lost track time after a team's fourth violation.

Should an infraction involving post-race LIS or lug nut inspection occur during the championship race at Homestead for any of the three series, the finish of the team found to be in violation would not count toward the determination of the series champion, or for any other positions that might be determined via tiebreakers.

Busch is the defending Sprint Cup Series champion while Harvick was the first to win a title under the current Chase format, which debuted in 2014.

These latest changes were made in collaboration with industry partners. "It should be no surprise to anybody where we landed," Miller said.

"As we convened with some of the team principals and competition guys, it became pretty obvious that we needed to do something like this."