With minimal effect, NASCAR heavily penalizes Denny Hamlin

NASCAR has docked Denny Hamlin 75 driver points, suspended crew chief Darian Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill six races and fined Grubb $125,000 for technical violations discovered during post-race inspection Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Following Hamlin’s third-place finish in the Brickyard 400, officials determined the rear firewall block-off plates on the No.11 car had been altered.

Upon further inspection at NASCAR’s research and developmental center, the penalties were issued on Tuesday. The infractions are categorized as “P5.” NASCAR defines the severity of infractions and the corresponding penalties on a scale of P1 to P6. Each level carries predetermined sanctions.

Block-off plates prevent smoke, fire and fluids from getting to the driver and are considered a safety component. On the competition side, the plates prevent air from flowing and giving the car an aerodynamic advantage.

Joe Gibbs Racing announced it would appeal the penalties.

On the surface, the penalties appear heavy-handed. However, in this instance perception doesn’t meet reality. A loss of points is of little consequence to Hamlin, who is already locked into the Chase for the Sprint Cup on the strength of a May 4 win at Talladega Superspeedway.

Hamlin drops from 11th to 21st in the standings, but is still well within the top 30, the cutoff for a driver to be Chase eligible. With six races remaining, he is 213 points ahead of 31st-place David Gilliland, a nearly insurmountable margin.

Although no driver wants to lose their crew chief for any period of time, Grubb’s first race back from suspension will be the Sept. 14 Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway. Therefore, while Grubb isn’t allowed at the track for the next six weeks, he is still allowed at the JGR shop during the week and can begin Chase preparations in earnest.

And in all likelihood, JGR will pay Grubb’s substantial fine, which is customary when a crew chief is found in violation of the NASCAR rule book.

Under the previous Chase qualification system Tuesday’s penalties would be crippling and would have resulted in Hamlin scrambling to make the playoffs. Now, it’s merely an inconvenience. Not the message NASCAR intended when it revamped how one earns a Chase berth.

Going forward, it’s not inconceivable that a team with a victory in its pocket could be more inclined to try and game the inspection process. Though a crew chief may incur a six-week suspension, what’s most critical is being active for the 10 most important races of the year.

If this is the case, Grubb made a worthy gamble. The No. 11 Toyota was woefully slow in practice and qualifying, to the point Hamlin openly complained in an interview on ESPN. Perhaps seeing an opportunity in the sport’s second biggest race, Grubb chose the riskier approach. If so, it was decision that paid off, as Hamlin drove from his 27th starting position to the lead and might have won were it not for a mistake on pit road.