Erik Jones’ No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota was disqualified after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway due to a post-race inspection failure. NASCAR determined the car did not meet the minimum weight requirements outlined in the rule book.
As a result, Jones lost his 24th-place finish and the six stage points he had originally earned, including those from a fifth-place result in Stage 1. The penalty caused a significant drop in the standings, with Jones slipping from 21st to 29th in the points.
In addition to the disqualification, NASCAR announced that both the No. 43 Toyota and the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet will be sent to the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further examination.
On Monday evening, Legacy Motor Club confirmed it would not challenge NASCAR’s ruling.
“Legacy Motor Club will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 43 car following Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway,” the team stated. “We understand NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight. After a thorough audit by the Club today, we have concluded that we did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although it was not intentional, we are taking steps internally to prevent this from happening again. We therefore accept the penalty and apologize to NASCAR, our partners and our fans.”
With this setback, Jones and the No. 43 team will look to rebound in the upcoming races as they work to regain lost ground in the championship standings.