The No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing team of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was assessed a P3 penalty for a violation at Richmond International Raceway, a punishment that includes the suspension of crew chief Nick Sandler.
 
During opening day inspection, the No. 17 did not meet vehicle safety specifications. According to the penalty report, the steering wheel coupling did not meet the SFI 42.1 specification, which relates to the steering wheel quick disconnect/release.
 
Sandler has been suspended from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points events through May 4, which entails one race -- this weekend's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Additionally, he was fined $20,000 and is on probation until Dec. 31.
 
Stenhouse, who finished 26th at Richmond, currently sits 19th in the points standings.
 
In addition to the penalty on the No. 17 team, two other teams were issued written warnings for failing pre-race inspection.
 
The No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson failed twice at the template inspection and the No. 14 of Tony Stewart failed twice at the LIS (laser inspection system) station.
 
Both received a written warning as it was the first offense for each.