Joey Logano’s victory last weekend at Richmond International Raceway will not count toward earning a playoff spot after NASCAR penalized Logano and his team for a violation discovered at the R&D Center.
NASCAR ruled the result an encumbered finish because of the penalty, meaning the victory does not count when determining playoff eligibility and that Logano does not collect the five playoff points for the win. The victory also does not count in tie-breakers, if needed.
NASCAR suspended Logano’s crew chief, Todd Gordon two Cup races and fined him $50,000. NASCAR also docked Logano 25 driver points and the team 25 owner points. The 25-point penalty drops Logano from fourth to fifth in the standings.
NASCAR cited Logano’s team for a rear suspension issue, citing Section. 20.14.2 in the Cup Rule Book that truck trailing arm spacers/pinion angle shims must conform to regulations. NASCAR stated that the truck trailing arm spacer/pinion angle shim mating surfaces must be planar and must be in complete contact with corresponding mating surfaces at all points and at all times.
This is the second major penalty for Team Penske this year. NASCAR suspended Brad Keselowski’s crew chief, Paul Wolfe, three races and fined him $65,000 for a post-race violation at Phoenix. NASCAR also docked Keselowski 35 driver points and the team 35 car owner points. The team later appealed the penalty and the final appeal hearing will be Tuesday.
Also, NASCAR announced that Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, Mike Wheeler, was fined $10,000 for the team having one lug not improperly installed.
In a statement early Thursday afternoon, Team Penske said it wouldn’t appeal Logano’s punishment.
Thursday night, Logano tweeted about the penalty:
We pushed the limits at Richmond and will own up to that just as we will continue to focus on winning more races. See u at @TalladegaSuperS
— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) May 5, 2017