Hamlin Hit With L2 Penalty For Engine Inspection Issue

Denny Hamlin in action at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March. (Daniel Overbey/LAT for Toyota Racing photo)

CONCORD, N.C. – Denny Hamlin was hammered with an L2 penalty from NASCAR on Wednesday, pertaining to Hamlin’s win at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on March 17.

In a violation self-reported by Toyota Racing Development, Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team was found to have broken rules 14.7.1.E, 14.7.1.F, 14.7.1.1.B, and 14.7.1.1.E in the NASCAR Rule Book.

Those four sections of the rule book all pertain to engine inspection requirements and engine seal guidelines.

Per Section 14.7.1.E, “All race-winning engines will be long block sealed by NASCAR and must be completely inspected by NASCAR before the engine may be disassembled by the team. If the team chooses to use the long block sealed race winning engine again before being inspected, the engine must be used in the same vehicle number the next time it is used.”

Sections 14.7.1.1.B and E go on to add that “seals must not be removed without prior approval by NASCAR,” and “if a race winning engine is sealed and presented for post-race inspection at a later date with damaged, altered or missing seals, an L2 penalty will be assessed.”

As a result, Hamlin has been penalized with the loss of 75 regular-season driver points and 10 playoff points, while car owner Joe Gibbs has been penalized with identical deductions in the owner standings.

Crew chief Chris Gabehart has also been fined $100,000.

“Each race-winning engine must be inspected by NASCAR once the race team determines that its life cycle is complete. In this instance, prior to presenting the engine to NASCAR for inspection, Toyota Racing Development disassembled and rebuilt the No. 11’s Bristol-winning race engine,” NASCAR officials said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

“Per the NASCAR Rule Book, this violation results in an L2 penalty to the race team and driver. Toyota Racing Development self-reported this violation.”

Wednesday’s penalties drop Hamlin from third to sixth in the regular season standings, and likely out of any contention for the regular season championship with just two races left before the playoffs.

He also falls from the No. 3 seed to the No. 6 seed in the provisional postseason rankings.

Toyota Racing Development, which supplies engines to Joe Gibbs Racing, 23XI Racing, and Legacy Motor Club in the Cup Series, took full responsibility for the oversight which led to the penalties issued by NASCAR.

“As the engine builder for our partner NASCAR Cup Series teams, TRD is solely responsible for the handling and disposition of all our engines pre- and post-race. Despite procedures being in place, Denny’s race winning engine from Bristol was mistakenly returned to our Costa Mesa facility, disassembled and rebuilt instead of being torn down and inspected by NASCAR per the rulebook,” explained TRD USA President David Wilson in a statement.

“Although we know with absolute certainty that the engine was legal and would have passed inspection, we left NASCAR in an impossible position because they were not given the opportunity to properly inspect our engine,” Wilson continued. “We have reviewed our processes and have implemented several additional steps to ensure that this never happens again.

“TRD takes full responsibility for this grievous mistake, and we apologize to Denny, Chris, Coach Gibbs, the entire JGR organization, NASCAR and our fans.”

Despite the announced penalties, Hamlin will retain credit for the Food City 500 victory in the record book, which was his first of three wins this year and the 52nd of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

He led a race-high 163 laps in March during a wild race characterized by extreme tire wear at the .533-mile, high-banked concrete oval.

Hamlin will have a chance to rebound Saturday night, Aug. 24 during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway, where the Chesterfield, Va., native is a three-time Daytona 500 champion.

Race coverage is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET, live on NBC, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.