NASCAR’s post-season is set to begin with a new set of rules that gives the sanctioning body power to issue stiffer penalties so stringent that a driver could lose a championship if his team fails inspection.  The bolstered sanctions announced Wednesday give NASCAR the authority to levy a harsh penalty should a car fail post-race laser inspection.  A winning team would not be able to use the victory to automatically advance to the next round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.  The same penalty could apply to a team that does not have enough secure lug nuts on its vehicle’s wheels at the end of a race.  The new penalties will go into effect if a team fails post-race inspection by a significant amount, or if three or more of the twenty lug nuts aren’t secure.  A winning team will not be stripped of victory, but the benefits that come with it would be withdrawn.  For the three season-ending races at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, the finishing position of a driver with post-race inspection issues would not count when determining the champion and placement of other Chase finalists.  The new rules will generally apply to all three of NASCAR’s national series: Sprint Cup,

X-FINITY and Camping World Trucks.