By: Kelly Crandall | July 29, 2018 6:02 PM Busch had qualified his No. 18 Toyota second for the Ganders Outdoors 400, but his time stood for less than an hour. NASCAR threw out his qualifying time and sent Busch to the rear of the field when the car failed inspection at the chassis station.

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“There’s a rule with a number of fans that you’re allowed to have to cool the tires and brakes, and I didn’t misread it, I just neglected to read it, and [it] says plain as day that you can only have one, and when you have two, you’re outside of the rules,” Stevens explained. “They can point to it and tell you, and you say, oh, yeah, I’m an idiot. You fix it, and you move on.“But we were on post-race tolerance [during] post-qualifying, and then we had to go to pre-race tolerance for some of the chassis measurements. But I wasn’t really concerned that it was going to affect the speed of our car. I was gravely concerned that it was going to hurt our pit selection and have a negative impact on us every time we came down pit road, but the speed of the car not so much.”The car passed inspection on its second time though.NASCAR has all teams go through inspection after qualifying when it has an “enhanced weekend,” which is a two-day show for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. With no activity on Friday, teams did all their practice and then qualified Saturday. The cars are then taken through inspection and impounded where teams can make no adjustments before the race.

Busch won for the sixth time at Pocono. It took Busch 17 laps to crack the top 10, and he took the lead for the first time on Lap 112. Busch led a race-high 52 laps.“Kyle and I don’t really do a lot of apologizing,” Stevens said of the reaction after the inspection failure. “He knows I’m trying to do my best, I know he’s trying to do his best. You’ll make mistakes, and you’ll have oversights.“I’m embarrassed about it. I’m not sorry about it. It’s not that big of a deal. Nobody died. Nothing caught on fire. You know, it was just one of those things. I’ve just got to maybe read the whole rulebook in my downtime. Maybe I’ll do it on the plane ride home.”

By: Kelly Crandall | August 13, 2018 11:11 AM NASCAR took six cars after the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway for wind tunnel and engine testing.Two cars were taken from each manufacturer.: Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski (Ford), Austin Dillon and Chase Elliott (Chevy) and Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin (Toyota).Officials have regularly taken cars for such testing during the season to see how the competition stacks up. Cars were also taken after the spring Texas race.

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“We try and find a track where, obviously, aero is going to play a bigger role,” NASCAR executive vice president and chief development racing officer Steve O’Donnell said Monday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.“I think it’s actually Tuesday. We’ll have those results kind of going into Wednesday, and our process is to share that with [the manufacturers] and the race teams. It’s a good barometer for us for two things. To make sure we’re still within that box that we set for the current year and probably most importantly is we look to lock in 2019, the baseline we’re using matches up with all the data that we believe we have in the system. It’s a good check on both for not only ’18 but future race packages as well.”

By: RACER Staff August 22, 2018 12:12 PM Crew chiefs from three Xfinity Series teams and one Camping World Truck Series team have been suspended for lug nut violations at Bristol.Matt Swiderski, crew chief for Austin Cindric’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford, and Jason Miller, crew chief for the No. 76 SS Green Light Racing Chevrolet driven by Spencer Boyd, have been fined $20,000 and suspended for the next three Xfinity races for having three unsecured lug nuts. The teams have been docked 35 driver points and 35 owner points.The penalty drops Cindric from ninth to 10th in the standings, but keeps him above the playoff cutline.

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Brian Wilson, crew chief for Penske’s No. 22 Ford (driven by Joey Logano at Bristol) has been suspended one race and fined $10,000 for two unsecured or missing lug nuts.The No. 68 Clay Greenfield Motorsports Chevrolet Truck was penalized for added ballast that fell off the car during practice. Crew chief Danny Gill, truck chief Melvin Burns Jr. and mechanic William Guinade have been suspended from the next three points-paying events through Oct. 17. The suspension does not affect Gill’s job as Jeremy Clements’ crew chief in the Xfinity Series.Carl Joiner Jr., crew chief for the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford of Matt Crafton, was fined $2,500 for a loose or missing lug nut. There were no penalties in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

By: Kelly Crandall 20 hours ago Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 NASCAR Cup Series team has been docked 10 driver points and 10 owner points following an L1-level violation last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.In its post-event penalty report, NASCAR states the team violated the damaged vehicle policy/mechanical repair by using unapproved metal tabs. Per NASCAR’s policy, regardless of how the damage occurred, the team can use only fasteners and/or tape to have original body parts removed or reattached in their original location(s).

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The loss of 10 points now puts Larson — who is 11th on the playoff grid — 36 points below a transfer spot going into the elimination race at Kansas Speedway. In addition, crew chief Chad Johnston had been fined $25,000 and car chief David Bryant has been suspended from the next Cup Series race.

Larson finished 11th in the 1000Bulbs.com 500. The car was damaged when he blew a tire on lap 105 and spun down the backstretch.The race-winning team from Stewart-Haas Racing was also penalized for safety after Talladega. Aric Almirola crew chief Johnny Klausmeier was fined $10,000 for one loose lug nut on Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Ford. There were three penalties handed down in the Camping World Truck Series.Crew chiefs Chad Kendrick (Austin Hill), Graham Bruce (Stewart Friesen) and Joel Shear Jr. (Johnny Sauter) were all fined $5,000.The L1-level infraction was the same for each team under Section 20.4: Body. NASCAR noted, “air is not allowed to pass from one area of the interior of the vehicle to another or to the outside of the vehicle.”

By: Kelly Crandall November 9, 2018 9:38 AM Rodney Childers spent Friday morning on Twitter responding to tweets about the penalty issued to his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team.Childers is suspended for the final two weeks of the NASCAR season. NASCAR penalized the team for modifying the spoiler on the winning car at Texas, offsetting it to the right to help with downforce.

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Among the tweets that Childers issued, he said the spoiler was not the reason Kevin Harvick won last weekend, and said SHR noticed other teams had spoilers and decklids “further to the right than ours” at the last 1.5-mile race in Kansas.Harvick will work with Tony Gibson as his crew chief at ISM Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Nick DeFazio will serve as the team’s car chief.Sunday afternoon is the elimination race for the Round of 8, and because of the penalty, Harvick has just a three-point advantage on the cutline. Harvick is a nine-time winner at ISM Raceway, including in the spring.

By: Kelly Crandall | November 8, 2018 9:13 AM NASCAR will examine its deterrence model during the offseason as the sanctioning body considers ramping up penalties issued to teams.Talking to reporters in a Wednesday night teleconference about the penalty to Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 4 team, senior vice president of competition Scott Miller said that several issues will be be discussed over the winter. Texas race winner Kevin Harvick lost his automatic championship berth from the victory because the spoiler on his Ford was out of compliance.Included in the penalty was a 40-point deduction, and Miller was asked why it wasn’t more severe and if penalties could be more severe in the future. Harvick gained the maximum 60 points at Texas because he won both stages (10 points each) and the race (worth 40 points).

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“We’re actually looking at a lot of different things in the offseason in regards to the deterrence model — we’ve heard the fans kind of call out for, ‘Why don’t you disqualify the offending car?’ and that’s actually a topic of discussion along with many other things related to the deterrence model,” said Miller. “Stiffer penalties at track and for failing inspection and for ‑‑ a lot of different things on the table.“With any of those, there’s a lot of things to work through and a lot of things to consider, especially when you kind of get to the disqualification level or something like that. There’s a lot of knockoff effects from that as to how the rest of the field shakes out and all that. But certainly, points, deterrence models, fines, suspensions, all that stuff is always on our plate during the winter. We always review what has happened in the current race season and always are looking to improve that process.”In the immediate aftermath when it comes to spoilers, Miller said NASCAR officials would be taking them off the cars this weekend at ISM Raceway and checking that they are the correct pieces.“Yeah, we’ll have to take them off and match them up against the part that it’s supposed to be,” Miller said. “We will try to do that in pre-inspection, and then I think we have enough eyes to know if a spoiler comes off a car, then we go on high alert on that one.”

By: Kelly Crandall November 7, 2018 7:23 PM NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller offered additional information Wednesday night on the penalty issued to Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 4 team following Kevin Harvick’s victory at Texas Motor Speedway.In its post-event penalty report, NASCAR noted the infraction was with the spoiler. According to Miller, when checked at the NASCAR R&D Center, the spoiler on the 4 car did not match the CAD file detailing the profile of the spoiler, which teams buy from a supplier (Richardson Racing Products).

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In the case of Harvick’s car, the spoiler height and shape were correct –details that were checked at the track by officials. However, the spoiler did not conform because it was offset in relationship to the center line of the car — in this case, moved to the right. As a result, more air can get to the spoiler when the car goes into the corner and, Miller said, “that’s definitely aerodynamic performance.”The infraction was “let’s say 200 to 300-thousands [of an inch],” Miller offered. “Little amounts actually it’s not something that you would just walk by and go, oh, my gosh. We’re not talking a matter of several inches or something like that. But what everybody has to realize is like subtle differences, a quarter inch, a half inch, three eighths of an inch, an eighth of an inch even, when it comes to aerodynamic performance in that area, it all means something.“It’s not something that by any means would stick out like a sore thumb. It’s definitely something that you would have to take a little bit deeper dive to see.”Asked if the part’s nonconformity could have been the result of a manufacturer issue, Miller responded, “No, absolutely zero.”“A manufacturing tolerance would be ten-thousandths of an inch, not 300 thousandths of an inch. So yeah, absolutely 100 percent, no question, black and white. As black and white as it gets.”Miller underlined that while height and shape are checked at the track, offset of a spoiler is not checked because “it’s supposed to be a standard part that bolts to a standard deck lid. So that location of the spoiler to the deck lid is a given as long as the standard parts are used.” Miller believes that Stewart-Haas Racing manufactured the part instead of using the spoiler from the vendor.Asked to clear up why the infraction was not detected at the track, Miller said it was noticed. However, it wasn’t noticed for exactly what it was, and since Harvick won the race and the car was going to the R&D Center, NASCAR knew it had a chance for a closer look. (Again, this area is not something checked at the track).“But there was something that one of the inspectors saw that kind of made them a little bit suspicious, and that’s why we took it [the spoiler] off when the car got back to the R&D Center,” said Miller, and compared it to the CAD file.The penalty issued early Wednesday was a loss of 40 driver and 40 owner points and the loss of the win counting toward the playoffs. Harvick went from being locked into the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway to just three points above the cutline. His crew chief, Rodney Childers, and car chief Robert Smith have been suspended for the rest of the season. Stewart-Haas is not appealing the penalty. Harvick will work with Tony Gibson this weekend at ISM Raceway and in Miami.

By: Kelly Crandall November 7, 2018 9:07 AM Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team have been issued an L1-level penalty which has negated their victory at Texas that locked them into the title race.Per the NASCAR penalty report, the team violated section 20.4.12.a&b, which relates to spoilers. The language of the rule states “vehicle must conform to the CAD file and drawing. Spoiler must be used exactly as supplied from the manufacturer. Rule 12.5.2.6.2(c) applied to race finish as a post-race L1 infraction.”As a result, Harvick’s AAA Texas 500 race win does not count as clinching a spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The team has been docked 40 driver and 40 owner points and crew chief Rodney Childers has been fined $75,000 and suspended for the next two races. Car chief Robert Smith has also been suspended for the next two weeks.Stewart-Haas will not appeal the penalty. Tony Gibson will serve as Harvick’s crew chief at both Phoenix and Homestead. Nick DeFazio will serve as the car chief.

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With the penalty, Harvick goes from being locked into the title race to fourth in the playoff standings with a three-point advantage on teammate Kurt Busch going into this weekend’s elimination race. Chase Elliott is now 17 points behind, Aric Almirola is 35 back and Clint Bowyer trails by 51.“We work tirelessly across every inch of our race cars to create speed and, unfortunately, NASCAR determined we ventured into an area not accommodated by its rule book,” SHR vice president Greg Zipadelli said in a statement. “We will not appeal the penalty. Instead, we will direct our immediate focus to this weekend’s event in Phoenix and control our destiny on the racetrack.”The teams of Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones were also penalized with L1-level infractions after further inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center.The No. 12 Team Penske team was found to have violated section 20.4.17.6.b on door front crush panels. Per NASCAR, “all filler panels must remain permanently attached for the entire event.”Crew chief Jeremy Bullins has been fined $50,000 while car chief Kirk Almquist has been suspended from the next two NASCAR Cup Series races. The team has also been docked 20 driver and 20 owner points.The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team was penalized for violation of sections 20.4.h (Body) and 20.4.17.8.b (Package Tray). Per NASCAR, “air cannot pass from one area of the vehicle interior to another. Vehicle package tray must remain flat and straight, front to back, with one break.”Crew chief Chris Gayle has been fined $50,000 and car chief Jason Overstreet is suspended for the next two NASCAR Cup races. The team has also been docked 20 driver and 20 owner points.One penalty was assessed in the Camping World Truck Series. The No. 35 team of Brennan Poole was issued a safety penalty for the “loss or separation of added ballast” from the truck.

By: Kelly Crandall | November 4, 2018 5:51 PM NASCAR has apologized to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 team for sending Jimmie Johnson to the rear for the start of the race at Texas Motor Speedway.Johnson’s car failed pre-race inspection twice Sunday morning, and NASCAR announced he was going to start the AAA Texas 500 from the back instead of his 23rd qualifying position. However, Johnson should not have been sent to the rear because there is no penalty for a car failing inspection twice.If a car fails pre-race inspection three times, then the driver will be sent to the rear. That was seen with one of Johnson’s teammates, William Byron, and the No. 24 team.NASCAR recognized the mistake after the race had started. Going to the rear for failing pre-race inspection three times is understood in the garage. However, there are no written rules in the NASCAR rulebook about how many failures send a driver to the rear of the field.

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“First, you talk to the team, and you apologize to the 48 for what happened,” Steve O’Donnell, executive vice president, and chief racing development officer. “It’s unacceptable on our part; a communication breakdown that happened right before the start of the race between our inspection area on the ground and race control, where I think there was an assumption there was a third failure. There wasn’t.“There was only two, in that case, the 48 shouldn’t have started in the back. At this point, what we can do is put processes in place to fix that so it never happens again. It’s disappointing. It’s not something you can fix during the race, unfortunately, so all we can do is own up to it and fix it.”Cars that fail three times are called out over the NASCAR radio, such as Byron’s. Johnson’s car was not called over the radio, but officials logged the incorrect information in the garage, which then led to the mistake.“There is no format for the teams to communicate to the tower, so, whatever the tower says is the way it is,” said Johnson. “This is just one of a few calls that have been wrong due to that situation. I don’t know how they do it. Here we have a minute and a half under caution, but at Bristol, you’ve got 30 seconds. I don’t think it’s a perfect environment for them to get it right all the time. Stuff happens.”NBCSports.com reported that crew chief Chad Knaus and other Hendrick officials met with NASCAR about the situation after the race.“It’s unfortunate,” Knaus said. “It put us in a bad situation, kind of put us behind the eight-ball and had to try to struggle back through.”“As an industry, we need to try to figure out how to make that happen a little better,” Knaus said. “We’re doing so many things to eliminate the dangers of pit road with officials and limiting all of that and … being able to communicate with the tower is more difficult now than what it has ever been. They’re looking into a way to try to make it to where we can have a direct line of communication, whether that be electronically, whether it be messaging or an audio radio channel.”Johnson had an up and down day. The seven-time Texas winner finished Stage 1 in the 19th position and then went for a slide early in Stage 2 in Turn 3 and was hit in the rear bumper by Byron. He finished the stage 24th.In the third stage, Johnson led 11 laps when cycling to the top spot during green flag pit stops. After making his final pit stop, he faded back to 15th at the finish.