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The 21st NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, which was held at Pocono Raceway, ended in a stunning turn of events.
Two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, crossed the finish line in first and second place, respectively, on Sunday at Pocono Raceway. However, their happiness was short-lived as NASCAR disqualified Hamlin and Busch after their respective cars failed post-race inspections.
As a result, third-placed Chase Elliott was declared the winner of Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 hours after the race, earning him his fourth victory of the season.
After a successful post-race inspection, official haulers found that Hamlin’s #11 and Busch’s #18 Toyota had material in the front fascia that was not supposed to be there, especially with Next Gen cars, as per the rules.
Speaking to the media, Cup Series managing director Brad Moran explained the reason that got Hamlin and Busch disqualified at Pocono Raceway. Moran 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. But both vehicles had the same issue. And unfortunately, they were not acceptable to pass inspection.”
Moran also mentioned that both the cars would be taken back to the sanction body's Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina for further evaluation. Apart from that, there were no penalties or inspections being issued to the two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.
The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers’ disqualifications marked the first time a Cup race winner has been disqualified for failing to complete a post-race inspection since the sanction body implemented harsher post-race inspection penalties in 2019.
Joe Gibbs shocked to learn that his NASCAR drivers failed post-race inspection
Moments after Hamlin and Busch were disqualified, Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs released a statement. He said that he would review what had happened but did not reveal whether the team would appeal the penalty or not.
Gibbs said:
“We were shocked to learn of the infraction that caused our two cars to fail NASCAR’s post-race technical inspection. We plan to review every part of the process that led to this situation.”
According to NASCAR, Joe Gibbs Racing will have time to appeal the penalty by 12 p.m. on Monday, July 25, 2022.
