Since NASCAR began they have had a history of coming down hard on certain infractions in the sport. Mainly on any rule breaker that messes with tires, fuel, or engines. Just such an infraction occurred after NASCAR broke down the race winning engine following the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway. NASCAR did indeed come down hard on Joe Gibbs Racing after finding one piston rod that was lighter than the others. As a result of the infraction NASCAR issued and some of its harshest penalties in recent memory.
Wednesday at the NASCAR research and development center in Concord N.C., many of those penalties were lessened. And there is no doubt that that was just fine by NASCAR. Although it’s highly unlikely that they will ever say so in public, NASCAR surely looked at the facts surrounding the penalties and saw that the team has very little control over what’s inside the race engines provided to them by Toyota. However they needed to act and they needed to act harshly. An infraction with any engine no matter the circumstances is still an infraction. In this case there was no evidence to indicate that there was any malicious intent, but NASCAR still had to act and enforce the rules and has in place.
Wednesday after hearing the testimony and considering the appeal most of the original penalties assessed by NASCAR were lessened.MORE>>>
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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