During Saturday inspection ahead of practice and qualifying for the NASCAR Cup race at Pocono, most cars managed to pass without issue.
However, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Kyle Larson and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet of Daniel failed twice, before both cars passed on the third attempt.
As a result of failing twice, both teams have lost their pit stall selection and will have to take whatever two stalls are leftover. They will still be permitted to qualify and won’t have to serve any in-race penalties, which would have been the penalty had either car failed on the third attempt.
Additionally, Hendrick Motorsports car chief Jesse Saunders has been ejected from the track and won’t be able to take any further part in the race weekend from Pocono. Live Fast Motorsports engineer Chris Stanley has also been ejected for the remainder of the weekend.
Larson is the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, but he’s also facing a year-long winless streak. Dye is making just his second career Cup Series start, and Live Fast are one of two open entries in the field for Pocono, with the other being Beard Motorsports and the No. 62 Chevrolet of Casey Mears.
It’s not uncommon for cars to fail inspection like this, and it’s happened several times during the 2026 season, including last weekend at Michigan. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, four different car chiefs were ejected for inspection issues.
