In pre-qualifying inspection at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), most of the 40-car field made it through the process without issue. However, the same cannot be said for Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 Chevrolet of Kyle Larson.
Larson's car failed inspection twice, finally passing on the third attempt. They narrowly avoided having to a serve a pass-through penalty, but the two inspection failures will still result in some penalties for the team.
First, Larson's car chief Jesse Saunders has been ejected and will not be able to be present at the track for the remainder of the race weekend. They have also lose their pit stall selection, meaning they will get whatever stall is left after the rest of the field picks.
There were no other reported issues. However, qualifying was shortened to one round due to some weather that passed through the area and a lightning delay that pushed the session another 30 minutes from its scheduled start time. Larson will be the 36th driver out on track. Since the reconfiguration, Larson's best qualifying effort at Atlanta is third. He timed in 17th for the race here earlier this year.
Hendrick Motorsportswas also penalized following last weekend's NASCAR Xfinity race at Pocono after an issue was found with the No. 17 HMS Chevrolet driven by Chase Elliott. The part-time entry was fined $40,000, docked some points and the crew chief was suspended for three races.
Photos from Atlanta II – Qualifying
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
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Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports Ford
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Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
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Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota
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Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
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Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota
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Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
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Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports Ford
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Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet
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Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet
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Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team Ford
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Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
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Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
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Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
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Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
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Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
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Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
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Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
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Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
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Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota
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Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
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Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
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Chris Buescher, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
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Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet
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Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
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Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
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Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
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Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Justin Haley, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
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Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford
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Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Krista Jasso / Getty Images
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Krista Jasso / Getty Images
Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Krista Jasso / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
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John Hunter Nemechek, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota
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Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
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Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
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Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
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Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
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Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet
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Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
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Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
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