Matt Kenseth has been docked 50 driver points as a result of rule violations at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Kenseth’s first place finish from the race will not earn him bonus points should he qualify for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase and his Coors Light pole award from the race will not earn him entry into the 2014 Sprint Unlimited.
Problems with the engine for the No. 20 Toyota Camry were noticed after the car was taken to NASCAR’s Research and Development Center. While there one of the magnetic steel rods connecting to the engine was found to be too light.
Kenseth was 8th in the Sprint Cup driver standings after Kansas, 59 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. Now Kenseth drops to 14th in the standings, 25 points out of 10th which would earn him bonus points for his win at Las Vegas.
Crew chief Jason Ratcliff has been suspended for six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and placed on probation until the end of the season. He has also been fined $200,000.
Joe Gibbs has also been hit with the loss of 50 championship car owner points. In addition the license of the No. 20 car has been suspended, meaning it will not accumulate owners points, for the next six races.
Toyota has also been docked five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championship points.
JGR releaesd a statement acknowledging the penalities and said that they were working with Toyota Racing Development, the engine marker, to determine the cause of the problems. JGR plans to appeal the penalties.
