SPARTA, Ky. — Austin Dillon lived up to the legend of the No. 3 car, then had his victory called into question Friday night.

No one had regularly driven the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt’s death on the track at the 2001 Daytona 500. On a warm night in the Bluegrass state, Dillon routed the field, only to have the car fail its postrace inspection.

Dillon took the lead early and was on top for 192 of the 200 laps to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

“I love running the 3,” Dillon said. “It pressures me every week to give 110 (percent).”

Roughly an hour after the trip to victory lane, the No. 3 car failed the inspection for being too low in the rear. NASCAR announced it would issue a ruling early next week.

Reached at the garage, Dillon’s crew chief, Danny Stockman, wiped sweat from his forehead as he left a meeting with officials.

“We’ve had an issue before. We addressed it in a meeting,” Stockman said. “It should have been addressed. That’s the only comment I’ve got.”

A similar situation took place earlier this season at Iowa where a car also failed a postrace inspection. The crew chief was fined $10,000 and six points were subtracted from the team.

The No. 3, of course, was driven to fame by Earnhardt, who raced for the Richard Childress team. Childress is Dillon’s grandfather and also his team owner.