Chase Elliott Dealt a Huge Blow as His Car Fails Pre-Qualifying Inspection Twice in Vegas With NASCAR Crew Chief Suspended

It’s fair to say that the current season, albeit two races old, hasn’t been turning well for Hendrick driver Chase Elliott. A tenth place finish at Daytona and then having dealt by a blow by his own teammate in Fontana, Elliott will undoubtedly be aiming for a clean and mean race in Vegas.

But having said that, the 2020 Cup champion has again been dealt with another blow, this time by NASCAR.

This is because, for the pre-qualifying inspection, Elliott’s No.9 Camaro failed the inspection twice. As a result, they had to eject a pit crew member, Matt Barndt, the car chief from Elliott’s team.

On top of that, the No.9 Hendrick team will also lose pit stall selection in Sunday’s race regardless of where they qualify.

The following cars failed NXS inspection twice and had a crew member ejected and will lose
 
No. 4 – Car Chief, Robert Smith
No. 9 – Car Chief, Matt Barndt
No. 21 – Car Chief, Cody Sauls
No. 38 – Car Chief, Tony Manzer
No. 77 – Engineer, Nicholas Sowa
 
There were no 3x failures

— Brett Winningham (@NASCAR_BRETT) March 5, 2022

However, the Hendrick driver isn’t the only one penalized for failing inspection.

Fellow drivers Kevin Harvick, Todd Gilliland, Josh Bilicki, and Harrison Burton have all been dealt with the same blow.

Chase Elliott has a point to prove this season

Chase Elliott will have his eyes on one thing, and one thing only this season – restoring his status as a driver who you can count on winning races every week. You don’t even need to speculate or think twice to determine just how eager the 2020 Cup champion must be to win a race again.

It’s only natural.

Last season, Elliott only took the checkered flag twice. His last win in NASCAR came in July 2021. And for someone with the caliber and promise of Chase Elliott, to have gone so long without winning has to be a concern.

Especially when his teammate Kyle Larson wins races so casually.

AVONDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 07: #5: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro HendrickCars.com walks in front of #9: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro NAPA Auto Parts before the NASCAR Cup Series championship race on November 7, 2021 at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

So surely Chase Elliott has a point to prove this season and the next opportunity to build upon proving that point comes this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Also Read: Chase Elliott Accused of Deliberately Sabotaging Teammate Kyle Larson After Bitter Fontana Fallout

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