WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell will both start at the rear of the field during Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen after multiple pre-race inspection failures at Watkins Glen Int’l.
Elliott and Bell were both assessed L1 penalties for issues with the rear-window air deflectors. As a result, both drivers were penalized with the loss of 10 driver points and each team lost 10 owner points. Each team was also fined $25,000 and their respective crew chiefs, Alan Gustafson (Elliott) and Adam Stevens (Bell) were ejected from the race track.
Elliott was originally scheduled to start 11th while Bell was slated to start seventh. Elliott has won the last two NASCAR Cup Series races at Watkins Glen Int’l in 2018 and ’19 while Bell earned his first NASCAR Cup Series victory on the Daytona Int’l Speedway road course earlier this year.
“Unfortunately today at Watkins Glen, the No. 9 car had an issue at technical inspection,” said Chad Knaus, vice president of competition at Hendrick Motorsports. “The team has been assessed with an L1 penalty and Alan (Gustafson) has been suspended from the race. Tom Gray, lead engineer of the No. 9, will take over calling the race in Alan’s absence. It’s an unfortunate circumstance for Alan, Chase and the race team. We apologize to our fans and partners associated with the No. 9 team, and will now focus forward on achieving the best possible results in today’s race.”