The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team just got hit with an L2-level penalty after last weekend’s Daytona 500, and let’s be honest—it’s a bit of a buzzkill.
Chase Briscoe and JGR were riding high after finishing fourth in the Great American Race, the kind of start that makes you think, “Hey, maybe this whole new-team-new-driver thing might actually work.” Daytona Speedweeks (or more accurately, “Speed-Couple-of-Days”) had been going well. Briscoe, freshly relocated after the collapse of Stewart-Haas Racing and Martin Truex Jr.’s departure, repaid his new team by sticking the No. 19 on pole for the 500 and following that up with a top-five finish. Not a bad way to introduce yourself.
Then NASCAR took the car for a little post-race checkup—normally nothing to worry about. Except, this time, they found something… interesting.
Over at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, the inspectors discovered that the spoiler on Briscoe’s car had been modified. And in case you’re new here, NASCAR really doesn’t like it when teams mess with single-source vendor parts.
The rule book is clear: L2-level penalties mean someone got a little too creative with the Next Gen’s tightly controlled parts list. JGR was found in violation of Section 14.1 (overall vehicle rules) and Section 14.5.8 (spoiler regulations). Specifically, the spoiler base—one of those sacred “thou shalt not touch” components—had been, well, touched.
The result? Briscoe gets slapped with a 100-point deduction in the driver standings and loses 10 playoff points before he’s even had a chance to use them. JGR itself takes a 100-point hit in owner points, plus another 10 playoff points gone. And just to make things extra painful, crew chief James Small gets a four-race vacation—unpaid, of course.
But wait, there’s more.
The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports and No. 51 Rick Ware Racing teams were also caught in the act—this time for a weight-related safety violation. Apparently, they decided to get creative with the driver hydration system by adding extra weight—because when in doubt, sneak a few extra pounds in where no one expects.
NASCAR caught them during pre-race qualifying inspection, promptly ejecting RWR engineer Chris Stanley and Front Row car chief Dylan Roberts for the Duel races. The punishment? No pit selection for the Duels and a 10-point deduction for both drivers—Todd Gilliland and Cody Ware—along with their respective teams.
And now, the inevitable: Joe Gibbs Racing is appealing the penalty.
Their official statement reads:
“Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) will appeal the penalty issued by NASCAR to the No. 19 Cup Series team today.
The issue in question was caused in the assembly process when bolts used to attach the spoiler base to the deck lid caused the pre-drilled holes to wear due to supplied part interferences.”
A noble effort, but let’s be real: their chances of winning this appeal are about as good as the second coming of Jesus happening during this week’s Atlanta race. NASCAR doesn’t exactly have a history of reversing these kinds of penalties, and “the bolts did it” isn’t exactly the kind of defense that gets rulings overturned.
Moral of the story? Play around with NASCAR’s Next Gen rules at your own risk. They will find you. They will penalize you. And they will make sure everyone knows about it.
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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