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25th
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Joe Gibbs Racing is facing one of the heaviest penalties after a post-race inspection at NASCAR R&D found one connecting rod underweight by less than three grams.
NASCAR issued the following penalties:
• Crew chief Jason Ratcliff has been fined $200,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events and placed on probation until Dec. 31.
• Car owner Joe Gibbs has lost 50 championship car owner points; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points toward car owner points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a car owner Wild Card position; has had the owner's license for the No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car suspended until the completion of the next six championship points events, therefore being ineligible to receive championship car owner points during that period of time (this relates to the car not Joe Gibbs who can appear at races).
• Driver Matt Kenseth has lost 50 championship driver points; the Coors Light Pole award from April 19 at Kansas Speedway will not be allowed for eligibility into the 2014 Sprint Unlimited; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points in the Chase and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a driver Wild Card position.
• The loss of five Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championship points (to Toyota).
Kenseth keeps the win, it's just that he gets no credit for it unless his team wheel wins the appeal.
A NASCAR statement said that the “magnetic steel connecting rods” had to be 525 grams.
Joe Gibbs Racing gets its' engines from Toyota Research and Development. “This is a total screw-up on our part," said TRD president Lee White on a satellite radio program. He pointed out that that those parts are ordered to be “2.3 grams or two balls of cotton,” under the minimum weight and that the connecting rods come from a “European vendor.” “I'm taking the responsibility,” White added.
JGR said in a statement, “...we will plan to appeal the penalty.”
In TRD's written statement attributed to Lee White it said:
We take full responsibility for this issue with the engine used by the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) team this past Sunday in Kansas -- JGR is not involved in the process of selecting parts or assembling the Cup Series engines. It was a simple oversight on TRD's part and there was no intent to deceive, or to gain any type of competitive advantage. Toyota is a company that was built on integrity, and that remains one of the guiding principles of the company.
The goal of TRD has always been -- and will continue to be -- to build high-performance engines that are reliable, durable and powerful, and within the guidelines established by NASCAR."
While JGR faces the brunt of the punishment Kenseth, who came over from Roush Fenway Racing this year, had an engine failure in Daytona and as a result of the penalty has two points less than before he got to Kansas Speedway.
The last time NASCAR issued penalties, for an engine violation, was in 2009 when it penalized Carl Long $200,000 for an engine which was 0.17 cubic inches too large while practicing for a non-points race.
This is the season for severe penalties from NASCAR. Just last week both Penske Racing cars, their crew chiefs and car chiefs heavily punished. Penske has appealed and that hearing is scheduled for May 1rst. After Gibbs files an appeal for JGR the No. 20 team may compete, just like Penske can, until the appeal is decided.
NASCAR issued the following penalties:
• Crew chief Jason Ratcliff has been fined $200,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events and placed on probation until Dec. 31.
• Car owner Joe Gibbs has lost 50 championship car owner points; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points toward car owner points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a car owner Wild Card position; has had the owner's license for the No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car suspended until the completion of the next six championship points events, therefore being ineligible to receive championship car owner points during that period of time (this relates to the car not Joe Gibbs who can appear at races).
• Driver Matt Kenseth has lost 50 championship driver points; the Coors Light Pole award from April 19 at Kansas Speedway will not be allowed for eligibility into the 2014 Sprint Unlimited; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points in the Chase and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a driver Wild Card position.
• The loss of five Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championship points (to Toyota).
Kenseth keeps the win, it's just that he gets no credit for it unless his team wheel wins the appeal.
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| Photo: NASCAR |
A NASCAR statement said that the “magnetic steel connecting rods” had to be 525 grams.
Joe Gibbs Racing gets its' engines from Toyota Research and Development. “This is a total screw-up on our part," said TRD president Lee White on a satellite radio program. He pointed out that that those parts are ordered to be “2.3 grams or two balls of cotton,” under the minimum weight and that the connecting rods come from a “European vendor.” “I'm taking the responsibility,” White added.
JGR said in a statement, “...we will plan to appeal the penalty.”
In TRD's written statement attributed to Lee White it said:
We take full responsibility for this issue with the engine used by the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) team this past Sunday in Kansas -- JGR is not involved in the process of selecting parts or assembling the Cup Series engines. It was a simple oversight on TRD's part and there was no intent to deceive, or to gain any type of competitive advantage. Toyota is a company that was built on integrity, and that remains one of the guiding principles of the company.
The goal of TRD has always been -- and will continue to be -- to build high-performance engines that are reliable, durable and powerful, and within the guidelines established by NASCAR."
While JGR faces the brunt of the punishment Kenseth, who came over from Roush Fenway Racing this year, had an engine failure in Daytona and as a result of the penalty has two points less than before he got to Kansas Speedway.
The last time NASCAR issued penalties, for an engine violation, was in 2009 when it penalized Carl Long $200,000 for an engine which was 0.17 cubic inches too large while practicing for a non-points race.
This is the season for severe penalties from NASCAR. Just last week both Penske Racing cars, their crew chiefs and car chiefs heavily punished. Penske has appealed and that hearing is scheduled for May 1rst. After Gibbs files an appeal for JGR the No. 20 team may compete, just like Penske can, until the appeal is decided.