Chase Briscoe and Stewart-Haas Racing have been fined US$250,000 and handed a six-race suspension – the largest possible penalties – after use of a counterfeit part in the #14 Ford Mustang.
NASCAR issued an L3 penalty to the team on May 31, saying that it violated multiple parts of the NASCAR Rule Book. The sanctioning body said that it found a counterfeit part – a NACA duct – in the underwing of the Ford Mustang during a teardown inspection at the R&D Center.
As a result, crew chief John Klausmeier received a $250,000 fine and a six-race suspension. NASCAR hit the #14 team with the loss of 120 driver points and 120 owner points. The penalties also included the loss of 25 playoff points for both Chase Briscoe and the team.
The Next Gen cars, which debuted in 2022, use parts from a single-source vendor. The goal of using this system is to improve parity in the garage and keep costs down for the teams.
Prior to the 2022 season, NASCAR unveiled a new three-tier system for penalties. L1 is the entry-level tier. It includes points deductions in the range of 20-75, playoff points deduction between one and 10 points, the suspension of one crew member for one to three races, and fines between US$25,000-$100,000.
The L2 tier includes point deductions between 75-120 points, playoff point deductions between 10-25, the suspension of one or two crew members for four to six races, and fines between US$100,000-$250,000.
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The L3 tier is reserved for the most egregious infractions. Potential penalties include the loss of 120-180 points, the loss of 25-50 playoff points, the suspension of one or two crew members for six races, and fines in the range of US$250,000-$500,000.
If a team commits repeated high-level violations, it could face a one-race suspension. The L3 tier also includes the potential loss of postseason eligibility.
Prior to the teardown inspection, Briscoe was the first driver below the playoff cutline with 12 races remaining in the regular season. He was only four points behind Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman.
Briscoe is now 31st in the regular-season standings with 172 points. He is 124 points below the cutline, which puts him in a must-win situation. He will not have enough time to erase this deficit.
If Briscoe can make the playoffs by winning one race and securing five playoff points, he will still enter the opening round at a distinct disadvantage. The points will reset to a minimum of 2,000, but the penalty will put him at 1,980.
Stewart-Haas Racing has now received two penalties based on this new format. The first was in October 2022 after a race at Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR took the #4 of Kevin Harvick to the R&D Center for a teardown inspection and found that the team had modified a single-source part.
The result was an L2 penalty. Stewart-Haas Racing lost 100 driver points and 100 owner points. Harvick had already been eliminated from the playoffs, so he did not lose out on any playoff points.
Crew chief Rodney Childers also received a US$100,000 fine and a four-race suspension that kept him out until the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
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