Daytona 500: NASCAR ejects Todd Gilliland, Cody Ware crew chiefs for tech violation

Already some crews have gotten into hot water at the Daytona 500, with a couple crew chief ejections coming following Wednesday’s action on the track.

According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, crew chiefs for Todd Gilliland (Chris Lawson) and Cody Ware (Billy Plourde) were popped by NASCAR for a tech violation on Wednesday. The nature of the tech violation was not immediately clear.

Lawson will be replaced by Kevyn Rebolledo, while RWR competition director Tommy Baldwin will replace Plourde.

The ejections are for the entire weekend, per Pockrass.

That will put both Gilliland and Ware at a potential disadvantage, with the anticipated team chemistry thrown off a bit by a late replacement at the Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt weighs in on Daytona 500 practice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have solved NASCAR’s practice debate after the organization changed the rules for the 2025 season. On X, Earnhardt revealed what NASCAR should do about practice ahead of the Daytona 500.

“Here’s an idea. Open the track up for practice. If you don’t want to practice, you don’t practice. If you want to practice, you practice,” he wrote. “Crazy idea I know, but would you believe they used this method for decades with no real complaints(?)”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was responding to a fan who wrote, “NASCAR drivers and teams, ‘we want more practice.’ NASCAR drivers and teams today, ‘practice is unnecessary.’”

Back in December, NASCAR revised its practice and qualifying format for 2025. For Superspeedways like Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta, drivers will not be allowed to practice. However, they can practice during the week of the Daytona 500 in a 50-minute pre-qualifying session.

The drivers had their practice session on Wednesday, and Christopher Bell said it “didn’t feel necessary.” When it was all said and done, Denny Hamlin paced the field on Wednesday with a top speed of 187.480 miles per hour.

On3’s Brian Jones also contributed to this report.