Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team among three that will lose pit stall selection for Coca-Cola 600

NASCAR announced Thursday that three Sprint Cup teams had received their fourth warning and would lose pit stall selection for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s team received its fourth warning after failing template inspection twice before qualifying.

Jimmie Johnson‘s team received its fourth warning after failing template inspection twice before qualifying.

Aric Almirola‘s team received its third and fourth warnings Thursday after failing template inspection twice and the Laser Inspection Station twice before qualifying.

Teams lose pit stall selection for every fourth warning. With pit stall selection not taking place until Saturday morning, the teams of Earnhardt, Johnson and Almirola lose pit stall selection for this weekend’s event.

Ty Dillon fastest in final Xfinity practice at Charlotte

Ty Dillon claimed the fastest speed in the final Xfinity Series practice for the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dillon posted a top speed of 181.342 mph while recording 48 laps in the session.

Daniel Suarez was second fastest at 181.056 mph while also recording the best 10-lap average for the session.

The top five was filled out by Erik Jones, who was fastest in the first session, Austin Dillon and Brennan Poole.

Speed Chart 

‘The Double’ awaits Mark Martin, who will commute often between Indy and Charlotte

INDIANAPOLIS — Though he will attend Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, Mark Martin will have the chance to celebrate his NASCAR Hall of Fame election with some of his closest friends in racing.

Martin, who will be inducted in the 2017 class with Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Raymond Parks and Benny Parsons, told NBC Sports that he will be leaving a few hours after the 100th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing begins and catching a flight to North Carolina.

He will be headed to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he will take in the Coca-Cola 600 (which he won in 2002) and the congratulations of those he raced against in the Sprint Cup Series.

Martin also is expected to be at Charlotte for a NASCAR-arranged media availability Saturday.

Martin, who was in his second year on the ballot, felt he had such little chance to be chosen for the Hall of that he left his native Arkansas earlier this week to attend the Indy 500.

“It was a bucket list sorta thing,” he said.

But then came Wednesday’s announcement that he had been elected – while he was on the road headed to Indy, no less – and Martin’s travel plans suddenly became a lot more complicated.

He attended Thursday’s Indy 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will fly Friday afternoon to Charlotte and returns to Indy later Saturday after his appearance at the Charlotte track. Then it’s back to Charlotte again after watching the start of Sunday’s race.

“I was speechless, still not sure what to say, other than I’m surprised,” Martin said of his selection for the NASCAR Hall. “If I’d been voting, I’d have voted another way.

"But I’m humbled and honored and not only to be in this class because of the performance of the people in this class and the people, the persons they were. … I just feel really fortunate. It’s like icing on the cake, like the race you never won but always wanted to, and more.”

To further illustrate his total surprise at being chosen for the Hall, Martin quipped, “I did not expect it, or otherwise I wouldn’t have been in the motor home driving up here yesterday.

“I hadn’t been to (the Indy 500) in my lifetime, so now it appears I’m going to be doing the ‘double.’ I’m not driving, but I’m doing the ‘double’ anyway.”

Here’s a few posts from Martin’s Twitter account about his time at IMS on Thursday as well as his selection for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

NASCAR America: Terri Parsons: ‘We’ve been waiting so long for this to happen’

Wife of the late Benny Parsons, Terri, talks about what it means for the 1973 Sprint Cup champion to be inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

NASCAR America: Mark Martin inducted into Hall of Fame

Considered the greatest driver to never win a Sprint Cup championship, Mark Martin is part of the 2017 Hall of Fame class. The native of Batesville, Arkansas, was runner-up five times. Martin won the Southern 500 twice and and earned 96 victories in NASCAR’s national series.

NASCAR America: Raymond Parks was a pioneer as one of the original car owners

Raymond Parks brought unprecedented organization to stock car racing, becoming NASCAR’s first successful team owner. His contributions to the sport are enough to put him in the Hall of Fame in the Class of 2017.

NASCAR America: Rick Hendrick: ‘I would have thought you were crazy’ with Hall of Fame talk

Rick Hendrick never would have thought he would be elected into the NASCAR Hall of Fame when he started his team as an owner back in 1984 and he still has a chance to add to his legacy over the coming years.