By David Morgan, Associate Editor
The chase for the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship will have one less driver in the mix after a penalty handed down by the sanctioning body on Thursday.
Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, who have won three races on the year (Bristol, Richmond, and Dover) were among a four-some of drivers vying for the crucial 15 Playoff points that go to the driver that finishes Race No. 26 at the top of the standings.
However, Hamlin now finds himself effectively eliminated from contention for the regular season honors after an engine inspection violation by Toyota Racing Development has landed both driver and team in the penalty box ahead of Saturday’s penultimate race of the regular season at Daytona.
Per NASCAR, Sections 14.7.1.E&F and 14.7.1.1.B&E in the rule book were violated when Hamlin’s race winning engine from this spring at Bristol was torn down and rebuilt by TRD without NASCAR inspecting it first.
“Each race-winning engine must be inspected by NASCAR once the race team determines that its life cycle is complete,” NASCAR said in a statement.
“In this instance, prior to presenting the engine to NASCAR for inspection, Toyota Racing Development disassembled and rebuilt the No. 11’s Bristol-winning race engine. Per the NASCAR Rule Book, this violation results in an L2 penalty to the race team and driver. Toyota Racing Development self-reported this violation.”
Hamlin started the week fourth in the standings without striking distance of the points lead, but he and the No. 11 team have been docked 75 points in the driver and owner standings, along with a deduction of 10 Playoff points. Crew chief Chris Gabehart was also fined $100,000.
As a result, he now finds himself sixth in the standings, some 103 points back of points leader Tyler Reddick. In addition, his Bristol win, which this penalty stems from, no longer counts toward Playoff eligibility.
David Wilson, current president of TRD, took ownership of the violation in a statement, expressing his apologies to Hamlin and JGR for the mistake.
“As the engine builder for our partner NASCAR Cup Series teams, TRD is solely responsible for the handling and disposition of all our engines pre- and post-race. Despite procedures being in place, Denny’s race winning engine from Bristol was mistakenly returned to our Costa Mesa facility, disassembled and rebuilt instead of being torn down and inspected by…
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