“The last two or three weeks, we had been late getting through tech,” he said. “Then, if we had a little bit of a problem, we had to go back through again. (NASCAR) said, ‘We’ve had enough of you going back through for little things.’” Officials released the car from pre-race inspection just 10 minutes prior to the command to fire engines Sunday, after the national anthem had already been performed. It was a move designed to make a point, and Penske said Sunday that NASCAR’s message has been received.
While Penske said the pre-race issues had nothing to do with the team’s disappointing, 22nd place finish, Busch disagreed. “We were late going through inspection and that set the tone for our day,” said the former Sprint Cup Series champion. “We were able to stay out and lead some laps under green and Steve Addington and the guys kept making changes and got our Dodge better by the end of the race. I just wish we could have started the race with the car that good."
Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said no penalties will be levied as a result of the #22 teams inspection issues.
