Matt Kenseth is penalized 50 points and his crew chief Jason Ratcliff is slapped with a $200,000 fine and a six-race suspension. The Nascar governing body inspected the Matt Kenseth No. 10 Toyota Camry after the Sprint Car driver won the STP 400 race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Inspectors discovered that the engine cheated Nascar regulation.
"It is our understanding that one of the eight connecting rods on the engine was ruled too light," according to owners Joe Gibbs Racing.
Nascar released the following statement regarding the failed engine inspection:
The No. 20 car was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-5.5.3 (E) (Only magnetic steel connecting rods with a minimum weight of 525.0 grams will be permitted; connecting rod failed to meet the minimum connecting rod weight) of the 2013 rule book.
Adopting a no-nonsense approach to engine violations that give a race team an unfair racing advantage, Nascar implemented a devastating penalty that will virtually end the team's entire season. The 50 points deducted from Matt Kenseth's total championship score is greater than the 48 he earned from leading the most amount of laps and winning the race. To give the critical deduction a sense of scale, Kenseth will drop from 8th in the points standings to now tie with Jeff Gordon at 14th. Kenseth and Gordon are both 109 points behind standings leader Jimmie Johnson.
Racing team Joe Gibbs Racing enjoyed four cars on the top step of the podium in the last eight races. In the three inspections prior to the latest Matt Kenseth incident, Nascar officials have not found any issues regarding the racing engines.
Responding to the penalty, Matt Kenseth spoke before the media in a press conference:
"Anybody in the garage, any knowledgeable, reputable, unbiased engine builder, they know there was no advantage there," Kenseth said. "There was probably a disadvantage there, if nothing else, for it being unbalanced."
"To crush Joe Gibbs like that and say he can't win an owner's championship with the 20 this year, I just can't wrap my arms around that," Kenseth said. "It just blows me away. The same for Jason Ratcliff. I don't feel bad for myself at all, but for Jason and Joe, I couldn't feel any worse. There are no more reputable, hard-working, honest guys than them two. I feel really bad for them."
Joe Gibbs Racing is prepared to appeal Nascar's decision.
Nascar values the principle of racing in identical equipment in order to give racers the ability to perform strictly to the extent of his or her abilities.
Due to violations committed by crew chief Jason Ratcliff, it is unlikely for Matt Kenseth to recover from the significant loss of 50 points in his season to win the championship.
Do you think the penalty appointed on Matt Kenseth was too severe? Let us know in the comments below.
Be sure to watch the Matt Kenseth press conference:
