The National Motorsports Appeals Panel overturned the huge penalty to Chase Briscoe that was originally levied against him and his team following the Daytona 500.
NASCAR originally punished Chase Briscoe and his team for modifying the spoiler base of his car. He was docked 100 driver points and 10 playoff points. Joe Gibbs Racing was fined $100,000, docked 100 owner points, and 10 playoff points as well. Crew Chief James Small was suspended for four races.
Mechanic and Motorsport Network Contributing Writer Bozi Tatarevic reacted to the initial penalty noting that NASCAR believed that Briscoe and his team had elongated holes in the spoiler base in order to ensure there is less air over the spoiler which would result in improving the car’s speed.
He noted, “NASCAR likely spotted elongated holes there and came to the conclusion that the parts were modified which is why they would issue the penalty since the spoiler base is spec part produced by Roush Advanced Composites that teams are not allowed to modify.”
NASCAR likely spotted elongated holes there and came to the conclusion that the parts were modified which is why they would issue the penalty since the spoiler base is spec part produced by Roush Advanced Composites that teams are not allowed to modify.
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) February 20, 2025
However, he also noted that these holes can “become elongated due to wear and tear because of how the bolt holes are arranged and due to how tightly everything fits back there where the spoiler meets the tail which is likely why JGR will want to appeal.”
But there is also a potential for these holes to become elongated due to wear and tear because of how the bolt holes are arranged and due to how tightly everything fits back there where the spoiler meets the tail which is likely why JGR will want to appeal. pic.twitter.com/a3yttw16dB
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) February 20, 2025
In overturning the penalty, the appeals panel, which was comprised of Dixon Johnston, Hunter Nickell, and Cathy Rice stated, “The panel believes that the elongation of some of the holes on the No. 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.”
Briscoe reacted to the ruling on X writing, “Biggest points day of my career! We’re back! In all seriousness thank you to NASCAR for giving us the option to show our evidence and huge thank you to everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing who put in countless hours to put everything together.”
Biggest points day of my career! We’re back! In all seriousness thank you to @NASCAR for giving us the option to show our evidence and huge thank you to everyone at @JoeGibbsRacing who put in countless hours to put everything together. https://t.co/En1viYh3OJ
— Chase Briscoe (@chasebriscoe) March 5, 2025
With the penalty overturned Briscoe now sits in 15th position in the Cup Series standings. He is 44 points behind current leader William Byron.
What do you make of the penalty being overturned?
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