Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez penalized for rear windshield violations at Dover

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer
Daniel Suarez (19) was third at Dover, just behind Clint Bowyer in second. (Getty)
Daniel Suarez (19) was third at Dover, just behind Clint Bowyer in second. (Getty)

NASCAR officials were quite busy at Dover.

The sanctioning body announced Wednesday that Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez had each been docked 20 points for rear windshield inspection violations found after Sunday’s Cup Series race. Bowyer finished second and Suarez finished third.

Both drivers’ cars were found to have improper rear windshield bracing, the third and fourth times the violation has been penalized so far in 2018. Las Vegas winner Kevin Harvick was penalized and Chase Elliott was penalized after the Texas race.

Harvick’s Vegas car actually had two inspection violations yet he was penalized 20 points, the same points penalty given to Bowyer, Elliott and Suarez. The thought is that a flexible rear windshield would allow more air onto the spoiler to give the car more rear downforce.

Suarez’s third-place finish on Sunday tied his career-best while Bowyer was passed late by Harvick for the win. Bowyer will drop from fourth to fifth in the standings with the penalty while Suarez will fall from 17th to 20th in the standings. Both drivers’ crew chiefs were fined $50,000 and car chiefs Jerry Cook (Bowyer) and Todd Brewer (Suarez) are suspended for two races.

Austin Dillon was penalized for an improper splitter found before the race. He finished 26th. His car chief Greg Ebert will be suspended for Saturday night’s race at Kansas.

Justin Allgaier won the Xfinity Series race at Dover but his win won’t count for his playoff eligibility. Allgaier’s car failed post-race inspection for a rear suspension violation similar to the one officials found on Joey Logano’s car after he won at Richmond a year ago. Allgaier is penalized 25 points in addition to losing the win for playoff purposes — he keeps the trophy and remains officially listed as the race winner — and his crew chief Jason Burdett has been suspended for the next two races.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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