Chase Briscoe, crew chief James Small and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 team have won their appeal against the NASCAR decision to issue a massive penalty in the aftermath of the Daytona 500 last month.
NASCAR had randomly selected the No. 19 car to take back to its R&D Department where it was determined that the spoiler base had been modified beyond spec. The component is one of the many single-source supplied parts that make up the seventh generation Cup Series platform.
The infraction resulted in a 100 championship point and 10 playoff point penalty to both Briscoe and the No. 19 car in the owner’s championship. NASCAR also issued a 100 point fine and suspended Small for four weeks.
Joe Gibbs Racing immediately appealed, deferring the suspension, and now all of it has been overturned.
As a result, Briscoe is now 14th in the championship standings after spending the past two races as having fewer than zero points and well outside of a playoff berth. The 10 playoff point penalty being overturned also means that Briscoe will not be in a championship deficit that would require two victories just to get back to even.
The appeal was heard by National Motorsports Appeal Panel members Dixon Johnston, a longtime racing marketing executive, former Speed Channel president Hunter Nickell and former South Boston Speedway general manager Cathy Rice.
This decision was also accompanied by a statement provided over why the penalty was overturned:
“The panel believes that the elongation of some of the holes on the number 19 Cup car spoiler base is caused by the process of attaching that specific spoiler base to the rear deck and not modification of the single source part.”
