Long Lake, Penn. — Denny Hamlin thought he had secured his seventh Pocono Raceway victory Sunday when he crossed the finish line ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch.
But in a rare move — the first of its kind since 1960 — NASCAR disqualified the Cup winner. NASCAR found that both Hamlin’s winning car and Busch’s car had material on the front end (in the nose of the car) that was not permitted by NASCAR rules. The material in question can affect how the car handles.
Both Hamlin and Busch were disqualified, allowing third-place finisher Chase Elliott to be declared the winner.
JGR has until Monday afternoon to decide whether to appeal, which is more than likely, and the appeal will be heard this week.
“There was no reason there should have been any material like that,” said NASCAR Cup Series Director Brad Moran. “And it basically comes down to DQ. … I can’t get into all the details of what the issues were.
“But both vehicles had the same problem. And unfortunately, they were not acceptable to pass inspection.”
Hamlin’s finish was 35th and Busch’s 36th.
NASCAR will take the car back to its research and development center, but at this time, no additional penalties or suspensions are being issued to the Hamlin and Busch teams.
“We were shocked to learn of the violations that resulted in two of our cars failing NASCAR’s post-race technical inspection,” Gibbs said. “We plan to review every part of the process that led to this situation.”
