Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal Alex Bowman’s disqualification following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Road Course, the team announced Monday night.
Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet failed post-race technical inspection due to not meeting the minimum weight requirement.
HMS released a statement, which read, “Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 48 car following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval. NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight. After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement.
“Although unintentional, the infraction was avoidable. We are extremely disappointed to lose a playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.”
During post-race inspection, NASCAR’s Managing Director, Brad Moran, explained that the No. 48 team was given multiple chances to pass inspection.
“We … gave them the opportunity to fuel the car as well as purge the water system and add water,” Moran said. “So we gave them every opportunity to make minimum weight. We ran them back through. Unfortunately, they were light again. They are allowed a 0.5% weight break, which is for usage of fluids and so on. That’s about 17 pounds. We backed the car back off the scales, ran it back on and then, unfortunately, it was the same weight.
“So the car had a weight issue. All the other cars cleared inspection. The 48 didn’t, and that ends up in a disqualification.”
Prior to his disqualification, Bowman had finished 18th, won Stage Two and advanced into the Round of 8. With Bowman being credited with a last-place finish (38th), Team Penske’s Joey Logano vaulted into the Round of 8.