Kyle Larson’s Team Hit With Penalties After Pocono Inspection Trouble

Before a single qualifying lap was turned Saturday at Pocono Raceway, two NASCAR Cup Series teams were already facing penalties.

The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Daniel Dye both failed NASCAR inspection twice ahead of practice and qualifying. While each car eventually passed on its third attempt, the repeated failures still carried consequences.

NASCAR penalized both teams Saturday, stripping them of pit stall selection and ejecting key personnel for the remainder of the race weekend.

Larson’s Team Among Those Penalized

Most of the field cleared inspection without issue Saturday morning, but Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet and Dye’s No. 78 Chevrolet ran into problems during the process.

Because both teams failed inspection twice before finally passing, NASCAR required them to forfeit pit stall selection for Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400. Instead, the teams will be assigned from the remaining stalls after the rest of the field makes its selections.

The personnel penalties may prove even more significant.

Hendrick Motorsports car chief Jesse Saunders was ejected from the remainder of the race weekend following the inspection failures involving Larson’s car. Live Fast Motorsports engineer Chris Stanley was also ejected for the rest of the weekend.

The penalties stop short of affecting Sunday’s starting lineup because both cars successfully passed inspection on their third attempt. Had either entry failed again, the consequences would have escalated considerably.

Even so, losing experienced team members and pit stall priority creates an additional challenge heading into one of the most demanding races on the schedule.

Another Inspection Storyline During the 2026 Season

Inspection penalties have become a recurring theme throughout the 2026 NASCAR season as teams continue searching for every possible competitive advantage.

At Pocono, that pursuit can be especially aggressive. The 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle” features three distinctly different corners, forcing teams to compromise on setup and making track position a critical factor throughout the race.

For Larson’s No. 5 team, the setback comes despite a strong qualifying effort. The former Cup Series champion secured a front-row starting spot and remains one of the favorites entering Sunday’s race.

Meanwhile, Dye is making just his second career Cup Series start and will face the added challenge of competing without one of his key team leaders available for the remainder of the weekend.

Neither penalty guarantees a difficult race day, but both organizations will spend the rest of the weekend attempting to overcome problems that surfaced before qualifying even began.

At a track where strategy, execution and track position often decide the outcome, even seemingly small setbacks can become major obstacles by the time the checkered flag falls.

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