Hendrick Motorsports has decided to not appeal the disqualification of Alex Bowman from Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval after his car failed post-race inspection.
The No. 48 Chevrolet failed the weight station for being too light. No explanation has been given by NASCAR nor the team for why the car did not meet the legal limit.
Hendrick Motorsports had until 5 p.m. ET Monday to file an appeal. Bowman was eliminated from the postseason because of the disqualification as he was moved to last in the finishing order, with one point earned. Joey Logano, who initi ally missed the postseason when the checkered flag fell, is now in the Round of 8.
“Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 48 car following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL,” a statement from the organization said. “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 d isappointed to lose a playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and p artners.”
Bowman is the only Hendrick Motorsports driver who is no longer championship-eligible. Prior to the disqualification, Bowman had earned the most stage points of the playoff drivers.
The first and second-place finishers of a race are torn down during post-race inspection. During the postseason, all playoff drivers go through a height and weight check-in post-race inspection.
