NASCAR confirms Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick cars set for further inspection post-Bristol

NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol News Monday, April 13, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET •By Simmey Hannifin Donaldson

NASCAR Cup Series stars Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick are facing a nervous wait with their cars set to face further scrutiny post-Bristol.

Following the post-race technical inspection at Bristol Motor Speedway, NASCAR confirmed that there were no issues in the Cup Series garage, declaring Ty Gibbs' win as official.

However, competition officials also indicated that Larson's No. 5 Chevrolet and Reddick's No. 45 Toyota would be taken back to their R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for a further inspection this week.

Larson led a race-high 284 laps but ultimately finished third in Tennessee, while Reddick finished one spot behind him in fourth.

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 Darlington, when Austin Cindric and Carson Hocevar's cars were the vehicles under scrutiny on that occasion, and no punishment was forthcoming.