Martin Truex Jr. penalized for unapproved adjustment after inspection at Indianapolis

NASCAR has handed down the reason why they made Martin Truex Jr. go through tech again after initially passing him. An unapproved adjustment to the car was made and officials have come down on the 19 team because of it.

This is going to come with punishment. Unapproved adjustments like this have happened a few times. Kyle Larson has been hit with this penalty in 2024. Truex will have to do a few things on Sunday.

For starters, he loses his car chief and his pit stall selection. He will also have to start at the rear of the Brickyard 400 and then serve a pass-through penalty under green.

Jeff Gluck of The Athletic with the details:

Martin Truex Jr.'s team made an unapproved adjustment after passing inspection that NASCAR did not like, and here is the result:

— Start at the rear tomorrow and do a pass-through penalty after taking the green

— Lost pit stall selection

— Car chief ejected for the weekend

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 20, 2024

This was a strange situation. Martin Truex Jr. and his team were pulled back and forth a bit. If NASCAR thinks that an extra adjustment was made after inspection, they are going to pull out this penalty every single time.

Teams are always looking for an edge. Teams are also looking at other teams and making sure they don’t get away with anything. Self-policing in the garage is the best way for officials to catch things like this. Not saying that is the case this time, but something to keep in mind.

So, Sunday will be difficult. But on a big track like Indianapolis, there will be opportunities to move up and get back with the pack. Does Truex have the speed for it though?

Martin Truex Jr. passes, then fails tech

NASCAR passed Truex in tech at first. Then they saw something they didn’t like and ran it through again. He passed after a couple of more times. This might end up looking similar to other penalties we have seen this season.

Martin Truex Jr. has struggled with speed recently. Now they are having trouble getting their car through tech. Todd Gilliland failed twice and will lose pit stall selection and likely his car chief for the weekend.

This is the final season for Martin Truex Jr. That means the clock is running out for the 19 team with this driver. His last finish in the top-5 was back at Kansas. Since then, he has had just two top-10 finishes in nine races.

As for Todd Gilliland, this is the second time in recent weeks he has failed tech twice. This Front Row Motorsports organization is starting to hit its stride, but passing tech is important, too. His job is only more difficult in moments like this.