Joe Gibbs Racing issues statement addressing NASCAR DQs after Pocono race

NASCAR disqualified former race winner Denny Hamlin and runner-up Kyle Busch on Sunday at Pocono Raceway after their respective cars failed a post-race inspection. During the inspection, NASCAR discovered material in the front fascia of the Hamlin’s #11 and Busch’s #18 car. The disqualification gave an unexpected victory to third-place finisher Chase Elliott.

Joe Gibbs Racing had the opportunity but decided not to appeal the penalty. Following this, the organization released a statement about the situation and admitted the issues with its cars.

After reviewing the situation, Wally Brown, the director of competition at Joe Gibbs Racing, admitted that a single clear piece of tape was found over each of the front fascia ahead of the left-front and right-front opening of Hamlin’s and Busch car. He later apologized for the violation of NASCAR rules and promised that it won’t happen again.

Brown said:

“In our review of the post-race infractions on the 11 and 18 cars at Pocono, it was discovered that a single piece of clear tape was positioned over each of the lower corners of the front fascia ahead of the left-front and right-front wheel openings on both those cars. The added pieces were 2 inches wide and 5 ½ inches long with a thickness of 0.012 inches and installed under the wrap.”

He continued:

“This change in our build process was not properly vetted within our organization and we recognize it is against NASCAR’s rules. We apologize to everyone for this mistake, and we have made changes to our processes to ensure that it does not happen again.”

Due to disqualification, both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers lost all the stage points and playoff points they earned in the race, along with being demoted to the last two spots on the 36-car field.

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NASCAR Senior VP explained the issue that led to disqualification at Pocono Raceway

In an interview with SiriusXM, Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president, spoke about the post-race inspection. According to him, #18 and #11 cars had extra layers of vinyl that were found in the lower fascia, which he described as the bottom part of the nose that attaches to the splitter.

Miller said:

“It was on the lower fascia and it was extra layers of vinyl that in effect deviated the part from the approved CAD files. It’s standard procedure for post-race inspection to peel vinyl off parts of the car that we feel are critical. We had no inclination prior that there was anything there and were very surprised at what we found.”

Hamlin was the second Cup race winner to be disqualified after Emanuel Zervakis, who received a penalty for having an oversized fuel tank at Wilson Speedway in 1960.