Michael McDowell No. 71 team penalized heavily by NASCAR for unapproved adjustment at Kansas

Bad news for Michael McDowell and the No. 71 team. They were caught making an unapproved adjustment after inspection. Teams try to get these things past NASCAR, and it almost never works out. So many eyes on pit road are willing to rat out other teams, not to mention officials and cameras.

Michael McDowell’s team was observed making an adjustment. McDowell’s team had already failed inspection twice, and then doubled down and made the adjustment to the splitter.

NASCAR has announced that crew chief Travis Peterson will be ejected. On top of that, McDowell’s team will lose pit stall selection, will have to start in the rear, and perform a stop-and-go penalty when the race goes green on Sunday. Cody Ware was the only other car to fail inspection twice and will lose stall selection as well as his car chief.

The 71 team has been pretty aggressive on setups this season. There are two other examples of the team failing inspection twice. Back in March at Phoenix and then again in May at Charlotte.

Of course, Michael McDowell’s team isn’t in the NASCAR Playoffs. So, they might feel more emboldened to try to get away with these adjustments and setups. Well, it didn’t work this time.

The NASCAR Playoffs take on the second race of the Round of 12. It will set the field for the elimination race at the Roval. McDowell and his team are likely more focused on making the most of their time on the track next week.

Michael McDowell starting behind at Kansas

With the penalty the 71 team received, Michael McDowell is going to be in a tough spot to start out. He might not bounce back from it if he can’t get a quick caution to help get him back up with the pack.

These stop-and-go penalties are hard to overcome at tracks like Kansas. Perhaps not as harsh as a stop-and-go at Bristol, but you can lose a lot of time on this track, having to go down and serve your penalty.

I would expect Michael McDowell’s teammate, Carson Hocevar, to do well this weekend. These intermediate tracks, where he can show off his raw speed, are where he usually excels. However, we have seen inconsistency from the 77 and the young driver behind the wheel.

Spire Motorsports would love to end the season with some great finishes. Of course, any kind of top-15 or top-10 from the 7 team and Justin Haley would be welcomed after their struggles in 2025.