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The last two days have been filled with immense highs and lows for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin after he managed to take the checkered flag first at Pocono Raceway on Sunday. The M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 saw the 41-year-old driver add a third visit to Victory Lane for his 2022 campaign, only to be disqualified from the post-race inspection.
The tumultuous turn of events after the 21st NASCAR Cup Series race led to Hendrick Motorsport's Chase Elliott inheriting the win after second-place finisher Kyle Busch was also disqualified on the same grounds as his teammate.
Despite Hamlin managing to celebrate what would have been his third victory this season and take the trophy home, the sour taste of disqualification remained after the news broke to the 23XI Racing co-owner. In return, the Tampa, Florida native took to Twitter to post a hilariously sarcastic video of himself with a bottle of champagne and the trophy from the race alongside him.
He made clear what he plans to do with the trophy and the half-finished bottle, and wrote:
“Live on EBay. 1 tainted trophy and 1 used bottle of champagne”
See the tweet below:
Even though Denny Hamlin is not too keen on keeping the trophy for himself, it might end up with an enthusiastic fan courtesy of his intention to sell the prize.
Why were Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch disqualified?
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch capped off a great day at work for the team with a 1-2 finish in last weekend's M&M's Fan Appreciation 400, only for the pair to be disqualified from the post-race inspection.
The governing body found elements in both the #11 and #18 Toyota Camry TRDs, which were supposedly not in compliance with the Next Gen car's regulations. NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran elaborated on the violations and said:
“There was some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle. The part was the front fascia. And there really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere that it shouldn’t have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ.”
Watch the complete interview below:
Both cars are destined to head to the governing body's research and development center in Concord, North Carolina, for further in-depth analysis of the aero devices.
