On the latest “Hauler Talk” podcast, NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis outlined how post-race inspection will work for the Championship 4 in the Craftsman Truck, Xfinity and Cup series at Phoenix Raceway.
In addition to the regular checks on body measurements and weights, the champion’s vehicle also will undergo a full engine teardown that can extend the inspection process to about three to four hours. (It usually takes about 90 minutes for NASCAR to clear the race winner.)
For Cup, the champion’s engine will be checked by Sunday evening. With the Truck and Xfinity races ending under the lights, the engine inspection is completed the following morning.
“To add several hours to what is already a pretty long day would be really putting both teams and officials on a time constraint of how long they had been working, and you want people to be fresh in that role,” Ellis said. “Because the Cup event essentially kind of ends the weekend, obviously, you want to be able to know who your champion is on Sunday evening for a lot of reasons.
“That’s truly the last step, when you think about crowning a champion officially, is the completion of the engine teardown.”
— NASCAR.com —