NASCAR announced several penalties for infractions found at Darlington Raceway over the weekend. All four penalties issued impacted major teams across the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and XFINITY Series and were found during post-race inspection.
Mike Wheeler, crew chief of the No. 11 Toyota driven by Denny Hamlin, has been fined $50,000 and will be suspended for two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship points events. The team will also lose 25 owner and driver points.
The No. 11 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team violated section 20.14.2 (Rear Suspension I-4 f Truck Trailing Arm Spacers/Pinion Angle Shims. Spacers/pinion angle shims must conform to the following drawing: A-008- 01016d-16 REV. A. Notes: 6 The Truck trailing arm spacer / pinion angle shim mating surfaces must be planar and must be in complete contact with corresponding mating surfaces at all points and at all times.)
The first-place finish by Hamlin will be encumbered.
Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., has been fined $20,000 and will be suspended for one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship points event.
The No. 88 Chevrolet was found with two missing lug nuts after the race.
“Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the penalty announced today by NASCAR stemming from a post-race lug nut infraction Sunday at Darlington Raceway.
Travis Mack, 34, will serve as interim crew chief for the No. 88 NASCAR Cup Series team with driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. during this weekend’s event at Richmond Raceway. The Louisville, Kentucky, native has been the team’s car chief since 2015, serving under crew chief Greg Ives.
“We have a tremendous amount of confidence in Travis and everyone on the team,” said Jeff Andrews, vice president of competition at Hendrick Motorsports. “Our people have done a great job all year with the lug nut rule. We won’t dwell on it (the penalty) and will look forward to having Greg back on the box next week at Chicagoland.”
After joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2004, Mack worked as a mechanic for the Nos. 24 and 88 Cup Series teams. In 2013, he moved to Hendrick Motorsports affiliate JR Motorsports, where he served as car chief for drivers Regan Smith and Chase Elliott in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Mack earned an Xfinity Series championship in 2014 as a member of Elliott’s team.”
Two major teams were hit with penalties over in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
Crew Chief Eric Phillips, who led the No. 18 Toyota team driven by Denny Hamlin on Saturday, has been fined $25,000 and suspended for the next two NASCAR XFINITY Series championship points events. They will also lose 25 owner points.
The team violated section 20.14.2 (Rear Suspension I-4 Truck Trailing Arm Spacers/Pinion Angle Shims; h. Spacers/pinion angle shims must have single planar mating surfaces. Notes: All mating surfaces between the truck; trailing arm and the U-bolt saddle must be in complete contact with each other.)
Greg Irwin, crew chief of the No. 22 Ford driven by Joey Logano on Saturday, has been fined $25,000 and suspended for two NASCAR XFINITY Series championship points events. The team will also lose 25 owner points as a result.
The No. 22 Ford was found in violation of section 20.14.2 (Rear Suspension I-4 Truck Trailing Arm Spacers/Pinion Angle Shims; h. Spacers/pinion angle shims must have single planar mating surfaces. Notes: All mating surfaces between the truck; trailing arm and the U-bolt saddle must be in complete contact with each other.)
Both teams penalized in the NASCAR XFINITY Series will have their finishes encumbered.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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