Brennan Poole hit with harsh penalties after No. 44 NY Racing car failed Pocono inspection

In his first NASCAR Cup Series race since 2023, Brennan Poole is going to have a tough start to the weekend after inspection. The No. 44 Chevy of the NY Racing Team failed inspection three times before qualifying.

As a result of failing three times, Brennan Poole’s team has been hit with very harsh penalties. The team will not get to qualify. The No. 44 will also have to do a pass-through penalty to start the race. On top of that, the car chief, Mark Labretone, is ejected, and the team loses pit stall selection.

This was already going to be a challenge for Poole. Now, that challenge gets even more difficult with these penalties.

It is a bit of a special weekend for Poole. He is racing in the Cup Series for the first time in over a year. On top of that, he has two matching race cars. His regular ride in the Xfinity Series is the No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Chevy. It looks the exact same as his No. 44 NY Racing Team ride in the Cup Series.

With this being such a rare start in the Cup Series for Brennan Poole, it is very unfortunate to start this far behind the ball. The pass-through to start the race is going to be the biggest blow to the 44 team’s hopes of a decent run.

Brennan Poole back in Cup Series

The start Brennan Poole is making this weekend is a big deal. He hasn’t made a Cup Series start since 2023. That season, he made seven starts with Rick Ware Racing with a best finish of P28 at Kansas.

Back in 2020, Poole raced the full Cup Series schedule. He was in the No. 15 for Premium Motorsports. That season, he had earned his career-best finish in the Cup Series at Talladega when he crossed the line P9. He had two top-16 finishes at Daytona.

It was a little obvious that Brennan Poole didn’t have the best situation in the Cup Series when he went. His time in the Xfinity Series marked him as an exciting and young prospect in his mid-20s. Now, Poole has found his niche racing for smaller teams in the Xfinity Series, and it has worked out pretty well for him.

Poole has a career-best finish of P12 at Pocono in the Xfinity Series. That came back in 2016 when he was with Chip Ganassi Racing.