Those of us who wondered how NASCAR would react to Kyle Busch failing post-race inspection at Pocono now have our answer: The penalty is comparable to what it would have been under the old points system.
Busch’s third-place car was found to be too low following Sunday’s race at Pocono, which would have typically been a 25-point penalty under the old points system.
NASCAR: Kyle Busch Penalized Six Points For Failing Pocono Post-Race Inspection
But under the new points system – where every point is one position and fewer points are awarded per race – Busch’s penalty is six points, NASCAR announced on Monday afternoon.
Busch’s crew chief, Dave Rogers, was also docked $25,000 for the infraction.
Six points may sound like a strange number, but it makes sense. A 25-point penalty under the old system was roughly six positions (there was an average of four points per position back then), so in essence, Busch lost six positions from yesterday’s race.
Busch’s penalty on Monday didn’t cost him any positions in the standings, though. He remains fifth in the Sprint Cup points, but is now 31 points behind leader Carl Edwards instead of 25.
NASCAR’s announcement came today instead of Tuesday (its typical day) because the Hall of Fame class will be announced tomorrow and some officials in the competition meeting will be involved in the voting (and also didn’t want to a penalty to take away any of the Hall spotlight).
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