2014 Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard Discussion

[FloridaFan88]

It's not really that much of a penalty in the long-run. They're pretty much locked into the Chase and won't lose that spot most likely.

 

[zaw24fan]

NASCAR just threw the entire rulebook and the kitchen sink at this #11 team.

 

[4WideRacing]

NASCAR just threw the entire rulebook and the kitchen sink at this #11 team.

It was still only level 5 of 6.

 

[Sgt Slaughter]

This helps a lot of the other guys trying to get in the Chase, like Menard, Dillon, and Larson.

If this was 2013, this would be a whole lot bigger, but now you just dust off your should and get ready for next week like nothing happened.

 

[zaw24fan]

It was still only level 5 of 6.

You're definitely right, but a P5 in the first problem of the season really sets a high standard.

 

[ShadowKnight508]

Credit to NASCAR.com:

NASCAR handed down heavy penalties to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 team Tuesday for infractions found in a post-race inspection after Denny Hamlin drove to a third-place finish in last Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

NASCAR stripped the team of 75 points in the series' owner championship standings and docked Hamlin 75 points in the drivers' standings. The team also suspended crew chief Darian Grubb for the next six Sprint Cup events and fined him $125,000. Car chief Wesley Sherrill was also issued a six-race suspension; both Grubb and Sherrill will be on NASCAR probation for the next six months.

The most recent penalty falls under the heading of a P5-class infraction, according to the new NASCAR deterrence system. It is the most severe punishment issued under the new penalty structure, implemented during the offseason.

Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement that it planned to appeal the penalty, but that Grubb and Sherrill would begin serving their suspensions immediately, starting with this weekend's event at Pocono Raceway.

The punishment moves Hamlin from 11th to 21st in the Sprint Cup standings. Though he missed a race earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway with an eye injury, Hamlin remains a virtual lock for a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs, thanks to his regular-season victory in May at Talladega Superspeedway.

In a statement announcing the ruling, NASCAR officials said the No. 11 Toyota violated four different sections of the NASCAR rule book, three pertaining to the body of the car -- specifically the sealing and securing of all sheet metal and firewalls -- and one for "actions detrimental to stock car racing." The rule book calls for a minimum of a 50-point penalty and $75,000 fine for a P5-level infraction, but an additional 25-point deduction and $50,000 fine were assessed because the violations were discovered during post-race inspection.

A NASCAR spokesperson announced the findings of the initial post-race inspection after Sunday's Crown Royal presents the John Wayne Walding 400, saying there were "possible issues with several rear firewall block-off plates." If the block-off plates became detached during the race, it could allow air to flow from inside the car and potentially create more downforce.

After Sunday's 400-miler, officials took the No. 11 car back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina for further investigation. Officials also took the race-winning Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon and the JGR No. 18 Toyota of runner-up Kyle Busch back to the R&D Center for routine evaluation; no at-track issues were found on the top two finishing cars.

Penalty Chart (for those interested):

 

[canadienhits]

It seems like alot, but with the chase re-set, it's really not that much.

 

[K.Chuck]

This could very well be a product of our new chase system, what do they really have to lose by cheating once they get a win?

 

[bigrolltide1877]

He is still locked into the Chase so the points penalty is worthless.

 

[S. Yogurt]

I know this is another one of those new chase hate comments, but I still have yet to see how this new chase format is any good. Almirola lucks into a rain win at Daytona, and now is pretty much in the chase. I'm just not seeing how Almirola could have a shot at the championship.

On the Hamlin side of things, that is a really harsh penalty, but as hijinxtattoo said, you really can't lose a whole lot if you cheat once you have a win.

 

[labontefanboy]

One year ago this would be a MASSIVE story. In terms of points scaling, I think it's the biggest penalty in NASCAR history if my memory serves me correctly. The only times I've ever seen a penalty that had more than a single race's max points total was Carl Long in '08 (penalized 200, max points was 190 or 195), and the 3 MWR cars after Richmond last year with 50 points penalties when the max was 48. This is a race and a half's worth of points. Yet it probably won't matter one bit because Hamlin is in the Chase. It almost encourages teams to cheat and hope they don't get caught. What's to stop a guy on the points bubble like Menard to find an edge somewhere and just make sure he doesn't finish in the top 3 and hope to not get pulled for random post-race teardown?

 

[AMLNet49]

Well this actually helps Menard quite a bit. He and Labbe went on today complaining about how part-time Montoya cost them a Chase spot, but at least they got some help here. They definitely have a right to be pissed at Juan, the #27 has been as solid as it's ever been.

 

[dalejrgamer]

Yeah, this could have been huge, but the new Chase system effectively made the penalty all for naught. Just having a win can make teams push the envelope a little further because they know they're all but in.

 

[Sgt Slaughter]

We didn't even need to seek out a reason to dislike the new Chase format...

NASCAR did that for us!

 

[timnsr72]

The points penalty doesn't really matter here, but being on probation until the end of the year means they will have to stay squeaky clean.

 

[4WideRacing]

Losing the crew chief and car chief from the track for 6 races isn't going to help them in the chase I'm sure even with them coming back before the chase starts.

 

[MattSRD28]

It almost encourages teams to cheat and hope they don't get caught.

That's basically 66 years of Nascar history in one sentence. Teams have been testing Nascar and the inspection process literally forever. This is hardly the Chase's fault, or the fault of any one particular anything.

The Chase points reset does take the sting out of it a little bit, but the suspension is big and the message sent is pretty clear. I'd sure hate to be the team that tries something like this again.