After the one-hour practice session Cup teams ran on Friday, NASCAR confiscated the hood louvers from all four Hendrick Chevrolets, along with the No. 31 Kaulig Car. NASCAR officials first noticed the difference on the Hendrick cars during the inspections before the practice session, but let the teams run them during practice before confiscating them.
After the qualifying session Justin Haley’s No. 31 Chevy also had its hood louvers confiscated form NASCAR. Any penalties that may be handed out by NASCAR will come later this week.
NASCAR officials confiscated the parts before they ran the actual race, this may be the difference in what penalties, if any are to be handed out to Hendrick or Kaulig.
The Daily Downforce will continue to update this story.
After replacing the confiscated hood louvers, the Hendrick cars were still fast in the Pheonix desert as Kyle Larson grabs the pole for the United Rentals Work United 500.
Only the No. 31 car of Kaulig Racing had its hood louvers confiscated by NASCAR after the qualifying session. A.J. Allmendinger will take the green flag in 22nd and Justin Haley will start 26th.
Fan Robbie Clarke asks Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports if there is any kind of aero advantage the teams had found.
Calvin the Great expresses the motto of trying to find loopholes to beat the competition.
DavidfromMd thinks if any modifications have been made that they should be DQ’d.
Check out what Eric Estepp had to say about the hood louvers confiscated from the Hendrick cars.
NASCAR taking these hood louvers before the drop of the green flag may be the difference between Hendrick Motorsports getting hammered with penalties or not. They have not been kind when it comes to body modifications on the Next Gen cars, but we will know later this week what the officials decide to do.
If they are penalized, this could be detrimental to the season for all four teams.
Lionel Racing finally confirmed the first wave of 2026 NASCAR Authentics 1:64 scale diecast for Monday morning, with the line of retail-exclusive diecast featuring a new look for the new year.
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Chase Pistone, a former competitor on the short track racing circuit in addition to NASCAR’s National Series, has passed away. Pistone, now a successful Legends Car owner, was 42.
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Three races in, the 2026 season is finally starting to show its hand. COTA shifted narratives, exposed weaknesses, and raised new questions about contenders, pretenders, and everything in between.
From substitute drivers being forced into action to points gaps growing faster than expected, COTA delivered more than just a road course chess match. There were momentum swings, reputation hits, and at least one young driver stacking up enemies before stacking up results.
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