Two car chiefs ejected after multiple NASCAR Cup inspection failures at Michigan

Two NASCAR Cup Series teams had a little trouble getting through inspection on Saturday, and so, the standard penalties have been applied.

26 of the 37 entries passed on their first attempt, while nine passed on their second attempt, but there were two that needed to go through the inspection process three times.

The No. 17 RFK Racing Ford of Chris Buescher, which entered this race eighth in the championship standings, failed twice before passing on the third attempt.

The No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet of J.J. Yeley — the lone open entry in the field, also failed twice before passing on its third attempt. Michigan will be the part-time team’s third Cup start of the 2026 season.

As a result of the inspection failures, RFK Racing car chief Josh Sisco and NY Racing team car chief Lee Leslie have been ejected from the track and can take no further part in the race weekend.

Additionally, both teams lose their pit selection, so regardless of qualifying result, Buescher and Yeley will get the final two pit stalls available after the rest of the field makes their selection for Sunday.

It’s not uncommon for cars to fail pre-race inspection twice, and it’s happened several times during the 2026 season. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, four different car chiefs were ejected for inspection issues.

Should a team fail three times, it will result in a pass-through penalty during the race, but both Buesher and Yeley managed to avoid this.