NASCAR has imposed a significant penalty on Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin, deducting 75 points and 10 playoff points. This ruling effectively eliminates Hamlin's chances of winning the regular-season title and presents a more challenging path to a championship victory. The penalty stems from the rebuilding of Hamlin's race-winning engine from Bristol Motor Speedway in March by manufacturer Toyota before NASCAR could conduct a thorough inspection. In addition to the points deduction, Hamlin's crew chief, Chris Gabehart, has been fined $100,000.
Toyota Racing Development self-reported what its president, David Wilson, described as a 'grievous mistake.' NASCAR responded by applying the standard penalty for any team found to have altered its engine before inspection. Despite being third in the Cup standings and 28 points behind the leader, Tyler Reddick, Hamlin has now dropped to sixth place and is no longer in contention for the regular-season title with just two races remaining. His playoff points have decreased from 21 to 11, reducing his margin for error in the initial three postseason races.
Wilson emphasized that Toyota Racing Development takes full responsibility for the incident and clarified that Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin's team, was not involved in the engine disassembly. He stated, 'TRD is solely responsible for the handling and disposition of all our engines pre- and post-race.' Wilson acknowledged that while the engine in question was legal and would have passed inspection, NASCAR was deprived of the opportunity to conduct a proper examination due to the engine being mistakenly returned to the Costa Mesa facility, disassembled, and rebuilt.
To prevent a recurrence of such an oversight, Toyota has implemented several additional measures. Wilson assured that steps have been taken to ensure that a similar situation does not happen again in the future.
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