Infraction likely leaves Allgaier without crew chief for Championship 4

Justin Allgaier will likely be without the services of his crew chief in next weekend’s NASCAR XFINITY Series season finale after NASCAR officials discovered a technical infraction in post-race inspection Saturday at Phoenix Raceway.

The JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet, which Allgaier drove to a 10th-place finish in Saturday’s Ticket Galaxy 200, was found with an unattached brake cooling hose in inspection.

A NASCAR spokesperson said that the violation would likely result in an L1-level penalty, which would mean a one-race suspension for crew chief Jason Burdett, a 10-point deduction in the driver and owner standings, and a $10,000 fine. Any potential appeal would be expedited, according to the spokesperson.

The same spokesperson said that the penalty would not affect Allgaier’s position among the Championship 4 contenders vying for a series title next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Allgaier qualified for the berth in the final by a 30-point margin.

Two teams were also found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check — the Team Penske No. 22 Ford of runner-up Ryan Blaney and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota of fourth-place finisher Christopher Bell. The guidelines for both infractions are fines for the respective crew chiefs.