Chase Elliott's Team Penalized by NASCAR for Infraction at Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR has penalized Chase Elliott for a rules violation in Sunday's Cup Series race, leading to a two-race suspension for crew chief Alan Gustafson, according to Dustin Long of NBC Sports.

Gustafson was also fined $50,000, while NASCAR docked Elliott 20 points. 

The No. 9 team violated Section 20.4.8.1 in that the rear window did not meet specifications.

Elliott finished 11th at the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, earning 33 points in the process. However, the violation was discovered afterward during inspection.

The 22-year-old now sits in 18th place in the Monster Energy Cup standings with 128 points.  After finishing fifth in the standings last season, this is clearly not where he wants to be.

However, he would be as high as 13th if not for penalties.

In addition to the 20 points lost in this incident, Elliott was docked 25 points for a violation two weeks earlier. That was another L1 violation, although it was for a different part of the car.

NASCAR suspended car chief Josh Kirk for two races, but Gustafson was only fined. This time the crew chief will be the one unable to participate.

Elliott will be back in action at the Food City 500 on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, but it could be a challenge without his crew chief.