Austin Dillon Hit with Pre-Race Inspection Failure

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Thomas Carelli | Last updated Feb 20, 2026 8:53 PM ET

NASCAR undergoes the same pre-race inspections every single race week. The cars arrive, officials inspect them, and then they get to work for practice and qualifying. Later, the cars are inspected again, then once more post-race. Generally, all cars make it to the track, but today, Friday, there was a failure, adding to the already struggling team's disappointment.

Cup tech update: ADillon car failed twice and will lose car chief and pit selection. Rest of field is good except McLeod car needs to go through on its second attempt. @NASCARONFOX
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 21, 2026

Per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, the failed car was Austin Dillon's No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing. After two attempts to pass inspection, the team could not clear it, and now they face consequences ahead of the weekend. For a team that saw its high hopes fall flat at Daytona, this does little to help a comeback story.

Austin Dillon Fails Pre-Race Tech

Oct 9, 2021; Concord, NC, USA; NASCAR performs tech inspection prior to the Drive for the Cure 250 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY SportsNASCAR Officials Conduct Pre-Race Car Inspect

The No. 3 car had two chances to clear itself for qualifying on Saturday morning. It could not do so. The details are yet to be released, but the crew now has some extra work to do to right their wrongs and get the speed into this Chevrolet.

This means the No. 3 team loses its Car Chief, Ryan Chism, for the weekend. To be clear, this is indeed their Car Chief, Ryan Chism, not their Crew Chief, Richard Boswell.

The No. 3 team will also lose pit selection for the race. Other than that, they are good to go. It seems NASCAR is lenient with pre-race inspection, so Dillon skates by and should have minimal struggles leading into his race.

This is not a rare occurrence by any means. In 2025, pre-race failures came to the No. 71 car of Michael McDowell, the No. 51 of Cody Ware, and the No. 44 of JJ Yeley, to name a few. It has happened far more often than in these three other instances.

Austin Dillon's odds of winning in his Chevrolet are currently set at 55/1, according to DraftKings. In his 18 starts at EchoPark Speedway, Dillon has achieved just one top 10 finish. With this track record, expectations for the Richard Childress Racing team for the second half are relatively low.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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