The Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway was supposed to be a playoff pressure cooker for the Round of 12, but before the green flag even waved, Spire Motorsports was in hot water. Michael McDowell’s No. 71 Chevrolet passed inspection once, but during the second sweep, NASCAR officials spotted an unapproved tweak to the front splitter.

The report nailed it: “the struts were reinstalled, and the car was rerun over the USS and failed due to the adjustment.” That’s a big no-no, messing with single-source aero parts like the splitter can give a sneaky edge in downforce and handling, something NASCAR’s been cracking down on hard since the Next Gen era kicked off.

The penalties hit like a lap 1 wreck. Crew chief Travis Peterson got the boot for the weekend, ejected from the premises. Spir

See Full Page