Dale Earnhardt Jr. has publicly addressed the significant penalties levied against NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and his team, following revelations of a race-winning engine that had bypassed NASCAR’s mandatory inspection process.
Hamlin, a prominent figure in the sport, faced a severe penalty after NASCAR discovered that Joe Gibbs Racing fielded a non-inspected engine. This engine discrepancy wasn’t identified until months later, but the penalties were immediate and substantial. These included a deduction of 75 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points—a substantial blow to Hamlin’s championship prospects.
The ramifications of these penalties are large. Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart, faces a hefty $100,000 fine. On top of this, the loss of points demoted Hamlin from third to sixth in the overall standings, sliding from 786 to 711 points.
Similarly, his playoff standing suffered, dropping him to a less favorable sixth place.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s reaction on X (formerly Twitter) to Hamlin painted a vivid picture of the penalties while putting to rest any allegations of engine tampering:
“Wild. Happened in March. And at Bristol where motor doesn’t really matter (gives me confidence there was no real intention). Also considering what was going on with tire management during the race. Big, big disappointment for DH and crew,” Earnhardt commented.
Moreover, Earnhardt expressed skepticism about the logic behind any alleged tampering, suggesting it was unlikely that a team would risk such tactics at a track like Bristol. “If you gonna trick the engine you ain’t risking it at Bristol,” he argued.
Toyota TRD, the engine supplier for Joe Gibbs Racing and implicated in this oversight, released a statement following this penalty:
“As the engine builder for our partner NASCAR Cup Series teams, TRD is solely responsible for handling and disposition of all our engine pre and post-race,” David Wilson president of TRD said. “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.
“Although we know with absolute certainty that the engine was legal and would have passed inspection, we left NASCAR in an impossible position because they were not given the opportunity to properly inspect our engine.
“We have reviewed our processes and have implemented several additional steps to ensure that this never happens again. TRD takes full responsibility for this grievous mistake, and we apologize to Denny, Chris [Gabehart], Coach [Joe] Gibbs and the entire JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) organization, NASCAR and our fans.”
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