Truex Jr. penalized 150 points for failing inspection at Daytona

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Martin Truex Jr. bid to make the Chase for the championship took a severe hit Tuesday when NASCAR penalized his team 150 points for bringing an illegal car to Daytona.

Truex's car failed its initial inspection last week at Daytona because the No. 1 Chevrolet failed to fit NASCAR's roof template. NASCAR officials seized the car and sent it to their Research and Development Center in Concord for further inspection.

"We've dug ourselves a hole but we're not giving up. This team seems to respond the best when its back is against the wall," said Truex, who missed the only practice session before Saturday night's race because of the illegal car.

"We brought a new car to Daytona and it fit all of the templates at our shop. It doesn't appear to have been anything intentional on our part but it was still our responsibility. We'll deal with it and move on."

But it will be an uphill battle from here for the star driver at DEI, who is in a contract negotiation year.

The 150-point penalty drops Truex from 14th in the standings to 18th. The top 12 drivers make the Chase, and Truex has just eight races to get back into contention.

Martin Truex Jr. takes a dive from 14th to 18th in the points standings. (Getty Images)

In addition, crew chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and car chief Gary Putnam were suspended from the next six races and placed on probation until the end of the year.

Manion was also fined $100,000.

"I hate that we're going to lose Kevin and Gary," Truex said. "Obviously, they are important to the team and it'll be weird not having them at the track."

John Story, vice president of motorsports operations at DEI, said the team will use its 10-day window to decide if it will appeal the penalty.

"We are still trying to understand how the car fit our templates multiple times at the shop, but we respect NASCAR's determination that one of our cars did not exactly conform to their template at the track," Story said.

Truex, who won his only career Sprint Cup Series race last year at Dover, was DEI's only driver in championship contention. He made the Chase last season, but finished 11th in the final standings.

This year has not been as solid for Truex, who has just five top-10 finishes through 18 races.