NASCAR docked Martin Truex Jr. 150 points and dealt a serious blow to Truex’s Chase hopes because his No. 1 car failed inspection last week before the Sodie Zero 400 at Daytona.

NASCAR’s template to measure the roof of cars revealed a violation with the roof of Truex’s No. 1 car, which couldn’t be made to fit despite efforts of Truex’s crew.

Truex drops from 14th to 18th in the overall standings, putting him 238 points behind Tony Stewart and the 12th and final Chase spot.

Car owner Teresa Earnhardt also lost 150 owners points. In addition, crew chief Kevin Manion and car chief Gary Putnam were suspended for six races and put on probation for the rest of the year. Manion also got hit with a $100,000 fine.

The folks at Dale Earnhardt Inc. may appeal the suspension.

“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,” NASCAR.com quoted John Story, the VP of motorsports at DEI, as saying in a statement.

Whether this infraction impacts the negotiations between Truex and DEI on a new contract remains to be seen. It surely means he will miss the Chase, which might give both sides pause as they consider whether to enter into a new agreement. Truex is a free agent after this season.

This could be a tough offseason for DEI. Mark Martin already is on the move to Hendrick Motorsports for a fulltime ride next season. Aric Almirola will take over as the fulltime driver of the No. 8 sign, but sponsor Army may be on the move as well. It’d be more bad news if Truex would opt to move on.

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