Blaney had a solid but not spectacular day on Sunday and rallied for a sixth-place finish. But after the race, NASCAR announced his No. 12 Ford had a left-front shock that didn’t meet the overall specified length.
The disqualification comes for violating NASCAR Rule Book section 14.11.3.5, which lists the minimum extended damper lengths for each shock.
Blaney will be credited with a last-place finish (36th) and one point. He also loses all eight stage points he scored in the race.
The penalty drops Blaney to last among the eight remaining playoff drivers. He goes from 17pts below the cut-line to 56pts out and is now in the position of likely having to win one of the two remaining races in the Round of 8 – at Homestead-Miami Speedway or Martinsville Speedway – if he hopes to advance to the Championship 4 at Phoenix.
The team has the option of an appeal, but it must notify NASCAR of its intention on Monday.
The revised top-10 finishing order of Sunday’s race has been changed to Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chris Buescher.
It’s the second time this year that a Cup Series team has been disqualified, with the most recent DQ coming earlier this month at Talladega when Kevin Harvick lost his runner-up finish.