Alan Gustafson suspended two races for Texas infraction

ByBOB POCKRASS
April 11, 2018, 12:10 PM

NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott crew chief Alan Gustafson for two races as Elliott's 11th-place car was found to have a rear window that did not remain rigid during the NASCAR Cup race Sunday at Texas.

Elliott was docked 20 points and Gustafson was fined $50,000.

Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the penalty. Kenny Francis, a former crew chief for Kasey Kahne, will serve as crew chief at Bristol and Richmond.

Hendrick Motorsports attributed the violation to an "unintentional support bracket failure" on the Elliott car. Photos taken during the event clearly showed the buckled rear window, which was the same issue Kevin Harvick's car had in winning at Las Vegas.

This was the second penalty for the Elliott team this year. He was docked 25 points and had his car chief suspended for two races for a suspension violation at Phoenix last month.

The 20-point penalty drops Elliott from 15th to 18th in the NASCAR Cup standings and 17 points out of the current playoff cutoff.