Joe Gibbs Racing gives up appeal

Not surprisingly, the NASCAR a annoncé lundi que la Joe Gibbs Racing renonçait à faire appel des disqualifications des Toyota de Denny Hamlin et Kyle Busch à Pocono. Par conséquent, Chase Elliott est officiellement vainqueur du M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400, signant sa quatrième victoire de la saison 2022.

Hamlin and Busch initially finished first and second respectively on Sunday, but were both disqualified following post-race inspection. The facts were serious enough for the general director of the NASCAR Cup Series, Brad Moran, to personally speak at the end of the event to announce that the front of the two Toyota Camrys were not compliant. Layers of non-regulatory adhesives measuring 5 cm by 14 cm were found on the inside of the bumper, at the level of the exterior deflectors. If the presence of a little transparent adhesive may seem quite innocuous when we see the state in which the cars can finish the races, we must keep in mind that these cars' aerodynamics are quite basic and ultra regulated race at more than 320 km/h for more than 3 hours of racing. The guidance of air flows on the front face is therefore a priority area of ​​research, whether it involves refining the air penetration coefficient or optimizing car cooling.

On Monday night, the competition director of Joe Gibbs Racing, Wally Brown, and the president of Toyota Racing Development, David Wilson, admitted an error and made amends. This humble and positive attitude should bring closure to the incident while the two cars seized after the race remain at the NASCAR Research Center for further inspection.

Despite this disqualification, the two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers are still among the 16 drivers qualified for the Playoffs, notably thanks to their victories this season, two for Hamlin (Richmond and Charlotte) and one for Busch (Bristol Dirt). Denny Hamlin also staged on social networks, with delicious self-mockery, the return of the trophy and the opened bottle of champagne... Everything is not so bad.

Live on EBay. 1 tainted trophy and 1 used bottle of champagne pic.twitter.com/kfZn6C877o

- Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) July 26, 2022