NASCAR sanctions Denny Hamlin, JGR. Why penalties could cost driver the Cup championship

Denny Hamlin’s path to his first NASCAR Cup Series championship just got more difficult.

NASCAR issued severe penalties to the 43-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s team on Thursday for violating engine inspection requirements. Hamlin’s team disassembled and rebuilt the No. 11 Toyota’s engine following its win at Bristol in March, considered an L2 (level 2) penalty.

Hamlin and JGR will each lose 75 driver and owner championship points, and Hamlin was docked 10 playoff points. The three-time winner — who appeared to have one of the best shots at his first career Cup Series title — drops from third to sixth place in the Cup standings. Crew chief Chris Gabehart was fined $100,000.

“Each race-winning engine must be inspected by NASCAR once the race team determines that its life cycle is complete,” a NASCAR statement reads. “In this instance, prior to presenting the engine to NASCAR for inspection, Toyota Racing Development disassembled and rebuilt the No. 11’s Bristol-winning race engine. Per the NASCAR Rule Book, this violation results in an L2 penalty to the race team and driver. Toyota Racing Development self-reported this violation.”

How much harder will it be for Hamlin to win his first Cup title?

Hamlin has been having one of the best years of his career.

A winner at Richmond and Dover following Bristol, Hamlin’s car has been among the fastest each week. He’s led a total of 896 laps this year, the most of any driver — including four-time winner Kyle Larson, who’s led 821 laps.

Even if Hamlin can make it to victory lane in one of the regular season’s final two races, the points penalties he suffered are significant. He had 21 playoff points before the penalty and had been in contention for the 15 points awarded to the regular-season champion, but now nearly half of his playoff points are wiped away.

NASCAR said the victory at Bristol no longer counts toward the playoffs, according to The Athletic. Hamlin’s still locked in from his wins at Richmond and Dover, but had this been his only win, he would have been removed from the playoffs.

“As the engine builder for our partner NASCAR Cup Series teams, TRD is solely responsible for the handling and disposition of all our engines pre- and post-race,” David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing, said in a statement. “Despite procedures being in place, Denny’s race winning engine from Bristol was mistakenly returned to our Costa Mesa facility, disassembled and rebuilt instead of being torn down and inspected by NASCAR, per the rulebook. Although we know with absolute certainty that the engine was legal and would have passed inspection, we left NASCAR in an impossible position because they were not given the opportunity to properly inspect our engine.

“We have reviewed our processes and have implemented several additional steps to ensure that this never happens again. TRD takes full responsibility for this grievous mistake, and we apologize to Denny, Chris, Coach Gibbs, the entire JGR organization, NASCAR and our fans.”

Who is the Cup Series championship favorite now?

Larson, with four wins and widely regarded as one of NASCAR’s greatest racers, remains the favorite to win the Cup title.

NASCAR’s playoffs are as unpredictable as any, and the system often rewards certain drivers getting hot at the right time. Hamlin, used to entering the playoffs as a top driver in the standings, will potentially enter toward the bottom of the pack and may need to win multiple races to advance through the playoffs.

Larson and Hamlin have provided a strong one-two punch throughout the season — the No. 5 Chevy and No. 11 Toyota have clearly been the best cars on the circuit. They’ve been winning stages, leading laps, and Larson particularly has won his races in dominant fashion.

Still, Larson isn’t head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field, and Hamlin’s penalties just tighten things up. Christopher Bell (three wins) and Tyler Reddick (the current points leader) have had fast cars all year, and it’s those two Toyota drivers who now have even better chances at their first career Cup titles.