Parts Taken From Two SHR Cup Teams In Atlanta

NASCAR confiscated roof rail parts from Noah Gragson (left) and Ryan Preece's (right) teams at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday. (HHP/Harold Hinson photos)

HAMPTON, Ga. – Announced Friday following pre-qualifying inspection for the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR has confiscated parts from two Stewart-Haas Racing teams.

NASCAR officials revealed just after 6:30 p.m. ET that the roof rail deflectors from both the No. 10 Ford Mustang Dark Horse and the No. 41 Ford Mustang Dark Horse had been confiscated for further evaluation.

The two Cup Series cars are driven by Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece, respectively.

If any penalties are levied against the two teams, they won’t be announced until next week, according to a NASCAR spokesperson.

Gragson finished ninth in the season-opening Daytona 500 last weekend after starting 38th, while Preece ended up one lap down in 23rd after starting 25th at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway.

This isn’t the first time recently that SHR has been under the microscope for technical violations.

Last year alone, the team incurred two major penalties, including the largest penalty assessed to a single car in NASCAR history for a counterfeit NACA engine duct, which assists with driver cooling.

For that infraction, which occurred at Charlotte Motor Speedway during Coca-Cola 600 weekend, Briscoe’s team was fined $250,000, crew chief John Klausmeier was suspended for six races, and the team was docked 120 regular-season driver and owner points, as well as 25 playoff points.

SHR’s Xfinity Series program was dinged for a splitter on Cole Custer’s car that was out of compliance later that summer, during the Michigan Int’l Speedway race weekend in August.

That penalty resulted in a $25,000 fine for crew chief Jonathan Toney, as well as the loss of 20 regular-season driver and owner points and five playoff points.

Qualifying for the Ambetter Health 400, the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series season, is slated for 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning, with live coverage on FS1, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.