Ryan Blaney disqualified from Las Vegas Cup race

Blaney had a solid but not spectacular day on Sunday and managed to finish in sixth place. However, after the race, NASCAR announced that his No. 12 Ford had a left-front shock that did not meet the specified length requirements.

This disqualification is a result of violating NASCAR Rule Book section 14.11.3.5, which outlines the minimum extended damper lengths for each shock.

As a result, Blaney’s last-place finish (36th) only earns him one point. Additionally, he loses all eight stage points he previously scored in the race.

This penalty drops Blaney to last place among the remaining eight playoff drivers. He went from being 17 points below the cut-line to now being 56 points out of contention. At this point, Blaney likely needs to win one of the remaining two races in the Round of 8 – at Homestead-Miami Speedway or Martinsville Speedway – in order to have a chance of advancing to the Championship 4 at Phoenix.

The team has the option to appeal, but they must notify NASCAR of their intention by Monday.

The revised top-10 finishing order of Sunday’s race is as follows: Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher.

This is the second time this year that a Cup Series team has been disqualified. The most recent disqualification occurred earlier this month at Talladega when Kevin Harvick lost his runner-up finish.