NASCAR has docked Denny Hamlin 75 points and 10 playoff points due to an engine violation involving his race-winning engine from Bristol in March. Toyota, which supplies engines to NASCAR teams, stated that the engine was “mistakenly” rebuilt before NASCAR had the chance to inspect it.
As a result of this penalty, Hamlin fell from third to sixth in the standings, now trailing leader Tyler Reddick by an overwhelming 103 points with only two races left in the regular season. His playoff points also saw a significant drop from 21 to 11, reducing his chances of earning additional playoff points based on his final standings.
David Wilson, President of Toyota Racing Development, expressed that the manufacturer accepts full responsibility for the incident, clarifying that Joe Gibbs Racing was not involved in the engine’s disassembly.
In NASCAR, teams must use a previously sealed engine in 18 of the 36 regular-season events to prevent tampering. Full-time teams are required to submit a schedule to NASCAR outlining which events will utilize a sealed engine before the season begins.
The violation was self-reported by TRD, leading to NASCAR issuing the penalty associated with the altered race-winning engine.
“TRD is solely responsible for the handling and disposition of all our engines pre- and post-race,” Wilson stated. “Despite established procedures, Denny’s race-winning engine from Bristol was mistakenly returned to our Costa Mesa [Calif.] facility, disassembled, and rebuilt instead of being inspected by NASCAR as per the rulebook.
“While we are confident that the engine was legal and would have passed inspection, we placed NASCAR in a difficult position by not allowing them the opportunity for proper inspection. We have reviewed our processes and implemented additional steps to prevent a recurrence of this mistake. TRD takes full responsibility for this serious error and extends our apologies to Denny, Chris, Coach Gibbs, the entire JGR organization, NASCAR, and our fans.”
