Massive Playoff Blow to Michael Jordan?s $150 Million NASCAR Team at Kansas As Bubba Wallace Pays Detrimental Price for Deceit

With the curtain already drawn on one playoff race, aspirations are set on Kansas Speedway, a track last dominated by the formidable Bubba Wallace. Last year, even though he missed the playoffs, Wallace was the ace up the sleeve for the No. 45 car.

Hoping to dance the same victory jig, Bubba Wallace was locked, loaded, and ready to own the tarmac. But in an unexpected turn of events, basketball legend Michael Jordan‘s prot?g?, along with his team, 23XI Racing, found themselves in hot water on Friday, slapped with a penalty for an alleged subterfuge.

Why did Bubba Wallace and his crew was sidelined for the rest of the Kansas Speedway weekend?

The reigning champion of Sunday?s 400-miler was primed to wear the pinnacle again at Kansas Speedway following a stellar show at Darlington. Such a setback (getting penalized by NASCAR) would have been the last thing on his radar, especially ahead of a race that held such promise. But what led to this unforeseen penalty on the eve of such an anticipated race?

According to NASCAR’s freshly inked statement, Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin‘s driver, Bubba Wallace’s racecar, didn’t pass muster during the NASCAR Cup Series pre-race inspection, not once but twice at the Kansas Speedway, although they did pass it the third time. Still, the exact nature of the breach remains shrouded in mystery.

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However, in line with the repercussions, Zachary Marquardt, the linchpin car chief for the No. 23 team, and Bubba Wallace were shown the exit door for the rest of the race weekend. This hiccup will also see the team relinquish their pit-stall pick for Sunday?s Hollywood Casino 400, the second nail-biting episode in the Cup Series Playoffs. If the team had struck out three times, they would’ve been skating on thin ice. Not only would they have missed the boat on qualifying, but they’d also have to face the music with a pass-through penalty at the race’s kickoff.

Wallace was certainly the talk of the town, with many pundits and fans placing their bets on him as the potential kingpin at the Kansas Speedway racetrack. A victory at his previously conquered track would have been a feather in his cap, cementing his foothold in the upcoming playoff rounds.

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Yet, if this oversight leads to a point deduction, it could rain on his parade. Given that his ticket to the playoffs hinged heavily on points, a significant dip due to penalties might jeopardize his journey to the top 12 or top 8. It seems, however, that Bubba Wallace is not the only driver to have recently flunked the pre-race inspection.

Truck Series driver also faces similar penalty

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While Bubba Wallace’s team found themselves in hot water over a cloudy car inspection incident at the Kansas race, Ty Majeski of the Truck Series was in the same boat last week at the Milwaukee Mile. The jury’s still out on what tripped up Wallace, but when it came to Majeski, NASCAR didn’t beat around the bush, pointing to an illegal car part usage ahead of qualifying. Sections 14.16.1 and 14.16.1.A&C rang alarm bells, and Majeski was slapped with an L2 infraction.

Majeski’s tally took a hit with a loss of 5 playoff and 75 driver points, with the team’s kitty also reduced by 75 owner points. The crew chief, Joe Shear Jr., had to cough up $25,000 and found himself benched for four races. Fortunately for them, they dodged a bullet, as the penalty was on the lighter side of the L2 scale because the hiccup was spotted before qualifying. In a move to keep things above board, NASCAR is now putting these illegal parts on display for everyone’s eyes, starting with a showcase at Kansas Speedway.

But now, the NASCAR bigwigs, with their fingers on the pulse, are mulling over tightening the noose around inspections in the Xfinity Series, thanks to the increasing tally of pre-race defects. As the seven-race Xfinity Series Playoffs are around the corner, starting Sept. 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the word on the street is stricter penalties. Starting from Bristol, if teams drop the ball during the pre-race check twice, they?ll be one man down, a sharp contrast to the earlier three-strike rule.

Just to paint the picture, ahead of the Darlington Raceway 200-mile race on Saturday, seven Xfinity Series teams were caught red-handed, failing the inspection twice, while six cars hit the same snag at Daytona. All eyes are now on whether the Cup Series will also tighten the screws in their pre-inspection process. Only time will tell.