No. 2 Penske Racing team in trouble again
Seems the favored team to receive penalties and loss of points is the Captain’s No. 2 Champion winning team last year.
Photo by: Action Sports Photography
The No. 2 Penske Racing Ford, driven by Brad Keselowski, failed post-race inspection at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sunday after the FedEx 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the track. NASCAR officials determined that the front of the car was too low. As a result, crew chief Paul Wolfe was fined $25,000, while Keselowski was docked six championship driver points and car owner Roger Penske was penalized six owner points.
In its penalty announcement on Tuesday, NASCAR cited violations of 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 20-12.8.1B (the car failed to meet the minimum front car heights during post-race inspection) of the 2013 NASCAR rule book.
According to Penske, the infraction was a result of a parts failure.
"The Penske Racing No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion experienced a part failure during Sunday's Dover Sprint Cup Series race, which resulted in the car's front end being too low when presented for post-race inspection," a statement from Penske Racing read. "The problem is being addressed internally to ensure it does not occur again, and the team is not planning to appeal the penalty."
The Dover race was the first race back for Wolfe and Todd Gordon, crew chief of Penske's No. 22 Ford driven by Joey Logano, after two-race suspensions for issues with the rear ends of both Penske cars prior the Sprint Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Wolfe was also still under NASCAR probation for the Texas infraction. The suspensions from that incident were delayed as the team appealed those penalties. The original penalties from the Texas incident included six-race suspensions for Wolfe and Gordon and 25-point deductions for Keselowski and Penske. National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook later reduced the suspensions to two-races, but upheld the points deductions.
In total, Keselowski has now lost 31 points to penalties. The most recent six-point deduction dropped him to 10th in points, 104 behind leader Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments