Dover L1 penalties hit Bowyer, Suarez, Allgaier hard

The NASCAR penalty hammer fell again this Wednesday, and it hit a couple of teams particularly hard.

It’s beginning to get to the point that other than race days, Wednesdays are becoming crucial for NASCAR fans and media. That’s because NASCAR hands out its post-race inspection penalties on Hump Day, and it had a number of them to distribute after the three races this past weekend at Dover International Speedway.

They weren’t confined to any one series, either. NASCAR announced that multiple Cup Series and XFINITY Series drivers received penalties this week, including five L1 penalties in all. Among those to receive them were Clint Bower, who finished second at Dover in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism, Daniel Suarez, who came in right behind him in third, and Justin Allgaier, who won Saturday’s OneMain Financial 200.

Of the three, Allgaier will feel the effects of his penalty the most. His win still stands in the record books, but it won’t count toward qualifying for the XFINITY Series playoffs, nor will he receive the bonus playoff points he would have gotten for his victory. Allgaier will most likely make the playoff field anyway, but that’s no longer a given, and since Cup Series drivers will be back in the XFINITY Series fields going forward now that the Dash 4 Cash races are behind us, it will be that much tougher to get the No. 7 Chevrolet back in Victory Lane.

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Suarez will feel the sting too, as his best finish of the year now essentially becomes no better than a 23rd-place result thanks to the loss of 20 drivers points. His 19 team has finally started to figure things out with three consecutive top-10s, but he’s now on the outside of the playoff race looking in, and since he’s yet to win a Cup Series race, he can’t count on that for his ticket to the postseason.

In contrast, Bowyer will be just fine as he’s already won a race, and his Stewart-Haas Racing team is one of the hottest in the garage. Still, as NASCAR.com notes, drivers get extra points for the playoffs if they finish in the top 10 of the regular season standings, so it’s not great to give any points away when that’s the goal. Bowyer was and perhaps still is on the verge of joining Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch as one of this season’s legitimate championship contenders, and the Dover penalty is a definite step back in that regard.

Next: What exactly is an L1 penalty, and why is it given out?

It’s also interesting that Bowyer’s team received its penalty because a “brace that supports the rear window failed and did not meet specifications for keeping the rear window glass rigid in all directions at all times.” That’s essentially the same thing that Harvick was busted for at Las Vegas, stripping away the benefits of that win. Everyone at SHR pooh-poohed the idea that something was amiss with their rear windows at the time, and both Harvick and Bowyer have been plenty fast without any violations in most races, but a repeat of the same infraction invites extra scrutiny Stewart-Haas would probably rather not have during what has been a dominant season so far.

What’s guaranteed going forward is that Wednesdays are going to keep being interesting, and fans are going to have to keep holding their breath, hoping that their favorite drivers don’t run afoul of the inspection process.