Denny Hamlin has received a significant penalty from NASCAR after breaching its inspection rules. The veteran driver has been stripped of 75 regular-season points and 10 playoff points. His crew chief, Chris Gabehart, faces a $100,000 fine for the unauthorized rebuilding of Hamlin’s engine. This infraction is classified as an L2-level penalty according to NASCAR’s rulebook.
The issue arose when Toyota Racing Development (TRD) admitted to disassembling Hamlin’s engine, which had been victorious at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Following this self-reporting, NASCAR imposed the penalty. As a result, Hamlin has dropped from 3rd to 6th place in the 2024 Cup Series standings. With two regular-season races remaining, Hamlin now trails the leader, Tyler Reddick, by 103 points.
NASCAR’s ruling on the matter was detailed in their press release, which highlighted violations of specific rule sections. The press release stated:
“Each race-winning engine must be inspected by NASCAR after the race team deems its life cycle complete. In this case, Toyota Racing Development disassembled and rebuilt the No. 11’s Bristol-winning engine before presenting it for inspection. This action resulted in an L2 penalty for the race team and driver. Toyota Racing Development self-reported this infraction.”
David Wilson, President of TRD, accepted full responsibility for the error. He explained that while they were certain the engine was compliant with NASCAR’s regulations and would have passed inspection, their premature rebuilding of the engine prevented NASCAR from conducting a proper inspection. Wilson’s statement included:
“As the engine builder for our partner NASCAR Cup Series teams, TRD is responsible for handling and disposition of all engines before and after races. Although we are confident the engine was legal, our actions left NASCAR unable to perform a complete inspection. We have reviewed and revised our procedures to prevent such mistakes in the future. We apologize to Denny Hamlin, Chris Gabehart, Coach Gibbs, the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization, NASCAR, and our fans.”
As a consequence of the penalty, Hamlin’s first Cup victory of the season has been nullified. Despite this setback, he still has two wins for the season and has secured a spot in the playoffs. However, the penalty is likely to affect his chances of clinching the regular-season championship. Hamlin will have the chance to recover his standing in the remaining regular-season races, starting with the upcoming Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
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