DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two NASCAR Cup Series teams failed twice in Daytona 500 pre-qualifying inspection Wednesday, resulting in crew member ejections and the loss of pit-stall selection for Thursday’s 150-mile qualifying races.
The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Alex Bowman and 23XI Racing’s No. 45 Toyota for Tyler Reddick both passed inspection, but on their third attempt through inspection. Bowman wound up 17th in Wednesday evening’s qualifying session, and Reddick was 36th on the speed chart in the first on-track action ahead of Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM).
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Each team’s car chief was ejected for Thursday’s qualifying races:
- No. 45 Toyota: Michael Hobson
- No. 48 Chevrolet: Ty Sipes
Both teams will also select pit stalls last for Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races (7 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM), which will help determine the 40-car starting lineup for Sunday’s 500-mile classic.
Bowman’s qualifying effort snapped his streak of Daytona 500 front-row starts, which ended at a record six in a row.