Denny Hamlin hit with massive penalties for engine violation
CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR hit Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing team with massive penalties for a violation related to a race-winning engine.
Hamlin and his team will each lose 75 championship points and 10 playoff points. NASCAR also fined them $100,000.
According to NASCAR, Toyota Racing Development disassembled and rebuilt Hamlin’s Bristol race-winning engine before presenting it to the sanctioning body for inspection.
“Each race-winning engine must be inspected by NASCAR once the race team determines that its life cycle is complete,” a statement from NASCAR read. “Per the NASCAR Rule Book, this violation results in an L2 penalty to the race team and driver.
NASCAR stated that Toyota Racing Development “self-reported” the issue. In a statement, TRD President David Wilson said they are solely responsible for what happens to engines before and after each race. Wilson added that, after Bristol, they made a mistake.
“Despite procedures being in place, Denny’s race winning engine from Bristol was mistakenly returned to our Costa Mesa facility, disassembled and rebuilt instead of being torn down and inspected by NASCAR per the rulebook,” Wilson stated Thursday.
Wilson said they knew “with absolute certainty” that the engine would’ve passed inspection. However, he said that they put NASCAR in “an impossible position” since they weren’t able to inspect it.
“We have reviewed our processes and have implemented several additional steps to ensure that this never happens again,” Wilson stated. “TRD takes full responsibility for this grievous mistake. And we apologize to Denny, Chris, Coach Gibbs, the entire JGR organization, NASCAR and our fans.”
NASCAR specified this violated rules 14.7.1.E&F and 14.7.1.1.B&E, as stated in the rulebook:
Impact on the NASCAR Cup Series championship
Hamlin was 28 points out of the lead with a chance at the regular-season championship. After losing 75 championship points, he is now 103 points out of the lead – and essentially out of contention for the regular-season title.
That will impact his playoff point total at the end of the regular season. Pre-penalty, Hamlin was third in the standings, in position to earn eight playoff points if he finished there at the end of the regular season.
Now, he is sixth in the standings, in position to possibly earn five playoff points.
Not to mention, the penalty of 10 playoff points – all with just two regular-season races left.
Here is what the standings would look like if the playoffs started today without the penalties:
- Kyle Larson 2035 (28 playoff points earned, 7 for fourth in championship standings)
- Denny Hamlin 2029 (21 earned, 8 for third)
- Christopher Bell 2029 (25 earned, 4 for seventh)
- Tyler Reddick 2028 (13 earned, 15 for first)
- William Byron 2021 (16 earned, 5 for sixth)
- Ryan Blaney 2019 (13 earned, 6 for fifth)
- Chase Elliott 2016 (6 earned, 10 for second)
- Brad Keselowski 2007 (5 earned, 2 for ninth)
- Austin Cindric 2007 (7 earned from Gateway win, two stage wins)
- Martin Truex Jr. 2006 (3 earned, 3 for eighth)
- Joey Logano 2006 (6 earned from Nashville win, one stage win)
- Daniel Suarez 2006 (5 earned from Atlanta win, one stage win)
- Alex Bowman (2005 (5 earned from Chicago win)
- Ty Gibbs 2003 (2 earned, 1 for 10th)
- Chris Buescher 2002 (2 earned)
- Ross Chastain 2001 (1 earned)
And what the standings would look like if the playoffs started today after the penalties:
- Kyle Larson 2036 (28 playoff points earned, 8 for third in championship standings)
- Christopher Bell 2029
- Tyler Reddick 2028
- William Byron 2022 (16 earned, 6 for fifth)
- Ryan Blaney 2020 (13 earned, 7 for fourth)
- Chase Elliott 2016
- Denny Hamlin 2016 (11 earned, 5 for sixth)
- Brad Keselowski 2007
- Austin Cindric 2007
- Martin Truex Jr. 2006
- Joey Logano 2006
- Daniel Suarez 2006
- Alex Bowman 2005
- Ty Gibbs 2003
- Chris Buescher 2002
- Ross Chastain 2001
With two race wins and four stage wins still on the table, Hamlin could still earn 14 stage points and make these penalties a moot point at the end of the regular season. On his championship points position alone, he could realistically only gain two more playoff points with where he is at, or even lose some:
- Tyler Reddick 814 points (+103 points to Hamlin)
- Chase Elliott 840 (+93 ahead)
- Kyle Larson 782 points (+71)
- Ryan Blaney 732 (+21)
- William Byron 728 (+17)
- Denny Hamlin 711
- Christopher Bell 703 (-8 points to Hamlin)
- Martin Truex Jr. 682 (-29)
- Brad Keselowski 677 (-34)
- Ty Gibbs 644 (-67)
- Alex Bowman 627 (-84)
- Chris Buescher (-90)
- Ross Chastain (-105)
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
So you can cheat and no big deal. But if you hit the wrong guy you’re out of the championship. Got it.