NASCAR has issued a warning to teams regarding the practice of deliberately driving off the track and onto the dirt during cool-down laps following a race. This tactic is believed to be an attempt to increase the car’s weight before the mandatory post-race technical inspection.

Drivers such as Ross Chastain and Shane Van Gisbergen have been observed employing this technique. Joey Logano was also identified as having done so after a recent race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran reportedly stated that a memo would be sent to teams discouraging this behavior. mike Forde, managing director of communications, reinforced this message on the ‘Hauler Talk’ podcast.

“We did not care for it, not one bit,” Forde said.

Forde indicated that the behavior could be interpreted as a violation of rule 6421.b, which stipulates that cars are under impound conditions immediately after the checkered flag and cannot be altered before inspection.

The prevailing theory suggests that drivers intentionally drive onto the grass to accumulate additional weight, ensuring they meet the minimum weight requirements.

Forde emphasized that NASCAR would take a dim view of such actions. “That is something that we’ll frown upon in a critically important way,” Forde said, adding that penalties, possibly including disqualification, would be persistent on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of the violation.

“We did not care for it, not one bit.”

Chastain and Van Gisbergen, who finished 24th and 25th respectively, underwent inspection due to their status as playoff drivers. They ended the second race of the first round 19 points above and 15 points below the cutline respectively.

Last year, Alex Bowman was disqualified from a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway for failing to meet the minimum weight requirement, highlighting the tight margins teams operate within. This disqualification led to his elimination from the playoffs and the subsequent reinstatement of Joey Logano into the Round of 8.

Forde noted the precision with which teams manage their car weights. “These teams are pushing it so close to the line on weight,” Forde said. “they know exactly how to math it out were we give them a 17-pound tolerance after the race. In Darlington,we measured every single playoff car,and there were a couple of cars that were within a pound of almost failing and being DQd.”