Getty Ryan Blaney still has a playoff spot.
NASCAR has issued penalties ahead of the annual All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. Two teams failed inspection multiple times and lost crew members for the exhibition race.
The sanctioning body announced the news on May 21 after Tyler Reddick captured the Xfinity Series win at the 1.5-mile track. The No. 12 Ford Mustang of Ryan Blaney and the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro of Corey LaJoie both failed inspection two times. They both passed on the third attempt, so they didn’t have to worry about dropping to the rear of the field.
Both teams lost pit stall selection for the All-Star Race. Blaney’s car chief Raymond Fox and LaJoie’s car chief Scott Brewer were both ejected for the remainder of the All-Star Weekend.
LaJoie does not have a win, so he will compete in the All-Star Open on May 22. He will try to win one of the stages or the online fan vote in order to take part in the main event. Blaney, for comparison, has a secure spot. He won three times during the 2021 season, which locked him into the All-Star Race.
ALL the latest NASCAR news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on NASCAR newsletter here!
Sign up for the Heavy on NASCAR Newsletter!
LaJoie Has His Spot in the Starting Lineup
GettyCorey LaJoie will try to secure a spot in the All-Star Race.
Losing a pit stall selection and a member of the crew was a setback for LaJoie, but he had to go out and focus on more important matters. The driver of the No. 7 needed to secure a spot near the front of the pack for the All-Star Open.
LaJoie was the eighth-fastest driver during practice for the preliminary race. He posted a lap time of 29.522 seconds at a speed of 182.914 mph. Tyler Reddick was the fastest in the session with a lap of 29.059 seconds at 185.829 mph.
LaJoie gained ground during All-Star Open qualifying. He improved his lap time to 29.195 seconds, which put him at the top of the board for more than half of the qualifying session. Though it was ultimately the eighth-fastest time in the end. LaJoie will now line up on the fourth row next to Austin Dillon for the All-Star Open.
Blaney’s Qualifying Session Started Well
GettyRyan Blaney qualified near the front of the pack for the All-Star Race.
The driver of the No. 12 had to take part in two different parts of qualifying ahead of the All-Star Race. He started by posting the third-fastest time during single-car qualifying. He posted a lap of 28.565 seconds and moved on to the unique head-to-head elimination bracket.
The second part of qualifying featured the pit crews conducting a four-tire pit stop and sending their cars out onto the track. The drivers raced each other around Texas Motor Speedway and back to the start-finish line.
Blaney’s crew turned in a faster pit stop than Ross Chastain’s during the first round of the elimination bracket. He moved on to the second round, where he faced off with William Byron’s crew and used a better launch to secure a spot on the front row.
The final round of the elimination bracket featured Blaney’s crew against Kyle Busch’s. The two veterans lined up with a shot at the Busch Light Pole, but the No. 18 team turned in a faster stop to capture the top spot in the lineup.
READ NEXT: Christopher Bell Partners With Texas Motor Speedway for New Venture