Michael McDowell was heavily penalized for Pocono, Ex-F1 racer Kvyat to make Cup debut at Indianapolis, NASCAR Power Rankings, Tony Stewart insists he's "not retired," and more NASCAR news.
Michael McDowell heavily penalized by NASCAR for Pocono
After finishing sixth on Sunday at Pocono Raceway, an inspection found an improperly modified part on the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford of Michael McDowell. He has been penalized 100 NASCAR Cup Series driver points.
In addition, crew chief Blake Harris received a fine of $100,000 and has been issued a four-race suspension and the team was also docked 100 owner points for the L2 infraction. If McDowell wins one of the five remaining races in the regular season, the team will lose 10 playoff points, NBC Sports reported.
Ex-F1 racer Kvyat to make NASCAR Cup debut at Indianapolis
Ex-Red Bull Formula 1 racer Daniil Kvyat, 28, will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at the Indianapolis Road Course this weekend, Motorsport reported. Kvyat will drive the No. 26 Toyota. It will be the first of three races Kvyat will compete in with Team Hezeberg, which also includes Aug. 21 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and the Oct. 9 race on the Charlotte Roval.
NASCAR Power Rankings: Chase Elliott No. 1
Here is a look at the top ten on the NASCAR leaderboard, per NBC Sports.
1. Chase Elliott: 787 points.
2. Ross Chastain: 682 points.
3. Ryan Blaney: 676 points.
4. Kyle Larson: 661 points.
5. Martin Truex Jr.. 654 points
6. Christopher Bell: 605 points.
7. Joey Logano: 599 points.
8. Kyle Busch: 595 points.
9. William Byron: 572 points.
10. Kevin Harvick: 571 points.
Tony Stewart insists he's "not retired"
Although the NASCAR Hall of Famer who won three Cup titles is no longer competing in NASCAR, Tony Stewart still occasionally gets behind the wheel and insists he hasn't retired from racing. To that end, Stewart competed in his Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) Series. However, the 51-year-old Stewart says he has cut back on his own Sprint-car racing to allow him time to put more of his focus these days on being a car owner, Fox Sports reported. He launched a two-car drag-racing operation this year.
"This has been a huge transition year," Stewart said. "I’m not retired by any means. I don’t want to come across as retired. I’m not retired."
"I had to step aside from running my sprint car this year because of our NHRA programs that we’re doing," Stewart clarified.