Daytona Beach, FL – Austin Dillon's lead in the Nationwide Series point standings was short-lived after NASCAR handed down penalties to his team on Monday for a rules infraction that occurred this past weekend at Kentucky Speedway.
Following his first career Nationwide win in Friday's 300-miler at Kentucky, Dillon's No. 3 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection when officials discovered the rear of his car was too low.
As a result, Dillon was penalized with a loss of six points. The rookie driver held a two-point lead over his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Elliott Sadler, but Sadler is now on top by four markers.
Dillon's crew chief, Danny Stockman Jr., was fined $10,000 and placed on probation for the remainder of the year. Morgan Shepherd, who is listed as the car owner, received a six-point deduction as well.
Team owner Richard Childress, who is Dillon's grandfather, said over the weekend at Kentucky that a faulty rear jack bolt was to blame for the car being below the minimum height requirement.
Dillon led all but eight of the 200 laps and crossed the finish line 9.8 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Kurt Busch.
Last month, NASCAR penalized Sadler's No. 2 RCR team for the same infraction that occurred at Iowa Speedway. Sadler was docked six points and his crew chief, Luke Lambert, received a $10,000 fine after their car did not meet the minimum rear car heights.
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