NASCAR issued a statement Tuesday morning stating that there was no evidence that Kevin Harvick did anything wrong on the final restart in Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway and he will not be penalized.
NASCAR also announced that Stewart-Haas Racing will not face any additional penalties after all four of its teams were told to correct the assembly of the radiator inlet duct panels on Saturday because they did not conform to specifications.
NASCAR’s statement:
“NASCAR has worked to review an extensive amount of material from Sunday’s NASCAR race in Talladega including video, team radio transmissions and downloadable data. Based on that review, the race results are considered official as we prepare for the upcoming 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Eliminator Round starting Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
“Post-race inspection is currently being conducted. The five cars at the NASCAR Research & Development Center for post-race inspection are the No. 22 (winner), No. 88 (runner-up), No. 18 (final car qualifying for the Eliminator Round), No. 31 (first car not qualifying for the Eliminator Round) and the No. 98 (random).
“Additionally, aside from today’s post-race inspection, NASCAR has completed review of any other potential penalties from the track this past weekend, and there will be no further actions.”
A few drivers stated that they felt Harvick intentionally wrecked Trevor Bayne on the final restart to ensure the caution came out, ending the race since NASCAR had changed a rule last week to limit the number of attempts at a green-flag finish from three to one.
Mike Helton, NASCAR vice chairman, said after the race, that series officials had not found any issues with what Harvick did but noted that their position could change if any evidence was uncovered.
