Overview
- NASCAR this month implemented a 2026 rule prohibiting drivers from using their hands to deflect air during single-car qualifying.
- Officials nullified Gragson’s Wednesday lap after he placed his hand in the window-net opening to influence airflow.
- His erased effort was clocked at 49.504 seconds, which would have left him deep in the order even without the penalty.
- Gragson accepted blame in a FOX Sports 1 interview, saying he forgot the new rule and that he “felt like an idiot.”
- The action reflects stricter enforcement of marginal aero tactics long used at superspeedways, including prior glove modifications penalized in the Joey Logano case.