New Hampshire winner Matt Kenseth fails postrace inspection

ByBOB POCKRASS
July 17, 2016, 9:00 PM

— -- LOUDON, N.H. -- The race-winning car of Matt Kenseth failed postrace technical measurements Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NASCAR, which is expected to announce penalties Wednesday, typically would not take away a win in this situation. The penalty for failing the NASCAR laser platform -- an inspection station that measures tire camber, axle housing, alignment, rocker panels and the main frame rail -- has been a 15-point penalty and a $25,000 fine to the crew chief.

NASCAR said Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota would be brought to the research and development center in Concord, North Carolina, for more evaluation.

If Kenseth receives a similar penalty, he would drop from fourth to fifth in the Chase-qualifying standings. With his two victories this year, Kenseth is a virtual lock for one of the 16 Chase berths.

NASCAR does have a provision in its rules that as part of the penalty, it could keep Kenseth from carrying over the three bonus points for the regular-season when points are reset for the opening round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Crew chief Jason Ratcliff, through a team spokesman, had no comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.