Five Sprint Cup teams receive written warnings; Keselowski, Stewart lose pit selection

NASCAR issued written warnings to five Sprint Cup teams last weekend at Darlington Raceway, including the fourth warnings to the teams of Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart.

Keselowski and Stewart will lose pit stall selection for this weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway. Receiving a fourth written warning results in losing pit selection.

Stewart’s car failed pre-race template inspection twice. Keselowski’s car failed pre-race laser inspection three times.

Carl Edwards‘ team also received a third warning for failing pre-race laser inspection three times. Edwards and Keselowski will both lose 15 minutes of practice time Friday at Richmond.

The teams of Joey Logano and Jeffrey Earnhardt each received their third written warnings for failing pre-race laser inspection twice.

NASCAR also fined Ryan Blaney $1,000 for not wearing gloves during practice for the Southern 500, which is a P1 penalty.

Xfinity and Truck Series warning and penalty report

NASCAR has fined Camping World Truck Series driver Spencer Gallagher $5,000 following the series’ race at Michigan International Speedway for approaching the track surface after exiting his wrecked car.

Gallagher left his No. 23 truck after a Lap 76 incident with Christopher Bell, whose truck he approached. Gallagher said he was concerned for Bell’s safety.

NASCAR also issued a written warning to the No. 18 Xfinity series team of Joe Gibbs Racing during the race weekend at Road America.

The No. 18, which was driven by Owen Kelly, failed pre-race laser inspection twice and received its fourth warning. A team loses pit selection after a fourth warning. There was only one inspection period prior to qualifying before cars were impounded.

Team Penske Xfinity team receives P2 penalty, loses 10 owner points

NASCAR issued a P2 penalty to Team Penske’s No. 22 Xfinity team for failing post-race laser inspection measurements last weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

NASCAR docked the team 10 owners points and fined crew chief Brian Wilson $7,500.Joey Logano finished sixth in Saturday’s race. The No. 22 team has yet to win a race in 2016 through 13 races. This is the latest it has not won a race since Brad Keselowski won the 18th race of the 2011 season at Kentucky Speedway.

In the Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR gave out its first punishment for a violation of its new lug nut rule outside of the Sprint Cup Series.

Scott Zipadelli, crew chief on Red Horse Racing’s No. 11 Truck, was suspended one race and put on probation through the end of the calendar year for violating the rule.

One written warning was given to the No. 23 team of Spencer Gallagher for truck trailing arm U-bolts and U-bolt mounting saddles not conforming to specified rule book drawings. It is the second warning for Gallagher’s team. If a team receives four written warnings, it will lose pit selection for one race.

Tony Stewart’s crew chief on probation for violation found in prerace

Mike Bugarewicz, the crew chief on the No. 14 of Tony Stewart, has been placed on probation by NASCAR through the end of 2016 following an illegal body modification found during the Coca-Cola 600. The violation is a P2 level penalty.

Stewart was forced to start at the rear of the field Sunday when his Chevrolet was found to have an illegal body design and surface conformance found in prerace inspection.

Bugarewicz is in his first season as crew chief on the No.14 and has been with Stewart for five races following his return from a fractured back. Bugarewicz took over the No. 14 team after serving as the race engineer on Kevin Harvick‘s car.

A P2 penalty could include a 10-point penalty, so Stewart’s team caught a mini-break the punishment wasn’t more severe. The three-time series champion is trying to climb into the top 30 in points before the end of the 26-race regular season so that he would be eligible for the playoffs with a win.

According to the NASCAR rulebook, a minimum P2 penalty must include one or more of the following:

–Loss of 10 Championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship Race or not.

–$10,000 to $25,000 fine, depending on the specific infraction.

–Suspension for the crew chief, and/or any other team members, as determined by NASCAR, for one or more Races.

–Probation through the end of the calendar year for the crew chief, or for a 6-month period following the issuance of the Penalty Notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons.

Matt Kenseth’s team receives third written warning; Paul Menard to miss practice time

Among the warnings given to Sprint Cup teams last weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the team of Matt Kenseth received its third. The No. 20 failed pre-qualifying laser inspection twice.

If a team receives a fourth warning, it loses pit selection.

The No. 27 of Paul Menard received its second warning for failing pre-qualifying template inspection three times. Menard will lose 15 minutes of practice time at Pocono Raceway.

Aric Almirola, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson lost pit selection for the Coke 600 after they received their fourth warnings prior to the qualifying for the race.