Two car chiefs ejected after Iowa NASCAR Cup inspection failures
Ryan Preece and the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford arrive at Iowa Speedway 38 points outside the top 16 in the driver standings and 13 points below the cut in the owners’ standings. With just four races left in the regular season, Preece needs to close the gap to 16th-placed Austin Cindric, who was very fast in practice, but Preece faced a small setback at Iowa on Saturday. The RFK Racing car ... Keep…
Two prominent NASCAR officials have been ejected after failing inspections of their respective cars at the Iowa Speedway. Ryan Preece, driving the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford, and Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports faced the consequences of their cars not passing pre-race checks. Preece, currently 38 points outside the top 16 in the driver standings, needed to close the gap to 16th-placed Austin Cindric, but his team's inspection failures hindered their chances.
Car chief Jerry Cook was removed from the team for the remainder of the weekend following the RFK Racing car's two failed inspections, while Gilliland's team chief Joe Marra also faced the same fate due to the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford's issues. Both teams were allowed to continue despite their setbacks, as they passed on the third attempt.
Failure to pass a third inspection would have resulted in a drive-through penalty at the start of the Cup race. Preece, who finished fifth at Iowa in 2025, is still searching for his first top-five finish of the 2026 season, while Gilliland qualified 17th, better than his teammate. Gilliland and Front Row Motorsports also won the $1 million prize for their victory in the In-Season Challenge at Indianapolis.
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- Winners and losers from a tricky NASCAR Cup race at Iowa motorsport.com
