NASCAR announces Atlanta penalties

NASCAR handed down its first encumbered finish penalties Wednesday afternoon.

AJ Allmendinger's No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has been penalized for having 17 of 20 lug nuts secured following the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Allmendinger's 26th-place finish is encumbered. Additionally, the team has been penalized 35 driver and owner points while crew chief Randall Burnett has been fined $65,000 and suspended for the next three Cup Series races.

NASCAR introduced "encumbered finish" to the sport's lingo last year before the Chase started. Infractions that fall into the encumbered finish category are a car failing the Laser Inspection Station (LIS) by a significant amount; a car that does not have enough lug nuts secured at the end of an event; incorrect ground clear violations; incorrect body height violations; and failure to meet minimum height.

The team has also been docked 10 owner points. Crew chief Scott Graves has been fined $10,000 and suspended from the next race.

Lastly, the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet had two infractions following Saturday's Camping World Truck Series event. The truck, driven by Chase Elliott to a fifth-place finish, failed to meet ground clearance in post-race inspection. The finish was encumbered, and crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz has been fined $5,000 and suspended from the next Truck Series event. The team has also been docked 10 owner points. Stankiewicz was also fined an additional $2,500 for the truck not having one secured lug nut.