NASCAR Announces Updated Post Race Penalty Structure

On Wednesday, NASCAR announced a new post race penalty structure stemming from events last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

The sanctioning body has decided to increase all tolerances for post race inspection measurements, virtually eliminating all lower tier penalties. The only time a penalty will be issued is if an infraction reaches a point where a suspension can be issued and a win would not be allowed to count towards advancement in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell said the decision was made so that all penalties are equitable. Under the previous structure, Truex virtually would have no penalty, because he won the race to automatically qualify for the next round of the Chase, while Johnson would have had a major 10-point penalty that could have put his ability to advance to the next round in jeopardy.

“We recognized if we were to apply those penalties as we listed them out for the event, those penalties would not have the same impact on the competitors based on the Chase format and the increased emphasis on win bonuses [to advance],” O’Donnell said.

“If you look back as to why we created the deterrent system, we put [it] in place to ensure that we had a level playing field for all 40 cars that were competing in the event; and in this case, if we applied those penalties, the post race penalty would not really treat each competitor fairly.”

Wednesday’s announcement comes off the heels of Chicago race winner Martin Truex Jr. and 12th place finisher Jimmie Johnson failing post race laser tech after last Sunday’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400.

NASCAR announced today neither Johnson or Truex would be penalized for being outside the rear alignment tolerances by a minimal amount.

O’Donnell also announced every Chase car would go through the post race measurement inspection station. Previously, it was the top-five and select others.

Should a car fail post race under the new system it would be a 35-point penalty, a three-race suspension for the crew chief and a $65,000 fine for the crew chief. If the car had won, the driver would not be allowed to use the win to advance to the next round of the Chase.