NASCAR: Larson and Ganassi penalized from Michigan

Kyle Larson and the Chip Ganassi Racing team have been penalized for technical infringements after his third-place finish in last weekend's Michigan NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

The No. 42 Chevrolet failed the post-race laser inspection that checks dimensions on the car are within legal tolerances.

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Larson's third-place stands, but he has been docked 15 points in the drivers' championship.

The team loses the same number of points, while crew chief Philip Surgen receives a $25,000 fine.

Surgen was a stand-in crew chief at Michigan during Chad Johnston's suspension following a violation of NASCAR's recently tightened wheelnut regulations in the previous race at Pocono.

In addition to contravening the vehicle measurement rules, Ganassi was deemed to have committed "actions detrimental to stock car racing" by NASCAR.

The points deduction further hampers Larson's efforts to get into this year's Chase.

Yet to win a race, he is 21st in the standings and now 38 points adrift of Ryan Blaney, who currently occupies the final spot in the title race open to the highest-scoring non-race winners.

Michigan was the first of two races where NASCAR was experimenting with a new lower-downforce package designed to increase overtaking.

Many teams struggled to get through the laser inspections through the weekend as they grappled with the new rules.

A further 16 drivers' crews received written warnings from NASCAR for failing either laser or template inspections more than once before either qualifying or the race or both at Michigan.

Originally on Autosport.com