NASCAR confirms Kyle Busch car set for further scrutiny after top-10 finish at Talladega

NASCAR has confirmed that the No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch at Talladega Superspeedway is set for further technical inspection after his first top-10 finish of the season.

Following the race in Alabama, Carson Hocevar's first Cup Series win was made official when NASCAR confirmed that there had been no inspection issues post-race.

However, competition officials also indicated that Busch's No. 8 Chevrolet and the No. 38 Ford of Zane Smith would be taken back to their R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, and face further scrutiny.

Busch finished 10th in Sunday's Jack Link's 500, marking his best result of the campaign after a rough start to the year. It was also a season-best day for Smith and the No. 38 crew, finishing in fifth.

Why does NASCAR inspect cars further?

What does this mean for those cars exactly? Well, cars are taken back to the R&D center from time to time, and often, it is just routine. However, if something illegal or that violated a rule were to be found during the added inspection, there would naturally be consequences.

This happened when Hendrick Motorsports' No. 17 Chevrolet, driven by Chase Elliott in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series last season, was seized post-race at Pocono.

During inspection at their R&D Center, NASCAR found that the team's vehicle violated Section 14.3.3.2.1.1 K&L (Main Frame Rail Conical Receivers) of the NASCAR Rule Book.

As a result, hefty penalties followed. Crew chief Adam Wall was suspended for three races, the team was fined $40,000, and the team was docked 40 owner points and 10 playoff points.

However, for the most part, the further inspections are for educational purposes, as outlined on NASCAR's official website: "Sometimes, NASCAR will choose cars to take back to the R&D Center, but that’s more for engine education than anything else."

This happened after Las Vegas, with Christopher Bell's No. 20 and Erik Jones' No. 43 both inspected further at NASCAR's R&D Center with no resulting penalties.

That was also the case following Bristol, when Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson's cars were the vehicles under scrutiny on that occasion, and no punishment was forthcoming.

NASCAR RESULTS: Carson Hocevar takes epic first Cup Series victory at Talladega