Sunday’s Cup race at Pocono Raceway. was a disaster for Joe Gibbs Racing. Both Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, who finished 1 and 2 in the race, were disqualified after a post-race inspection by NASCAR.
According to reports, JGR decided not to file an appeal, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t surprised or upset by the ruling.
“We were shocked to learn of the infraction that caused our two cars to fail NASCAR’s post-race technical inspection. We plan to review every part of the process that led to this situation,” Gibbs released in a statement.
Statement from Joe Gibbs Racing: pic.twitter.com/prcnXEt19a
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 25, 2022
Brad Moran, who is the managing director of the Cup Series, said Sunday night that an issue was found with the front fascia of both JGR cars.
“There really is no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been. That does basically come down to a DQ,” said Moran.
JGR has had major issues this racing season with their pit crews and this news is just the latest. It started with Bubba Wallace and his pit crew having issues in Kansas and Talladega before things came to a head in Nashville. Wallace got into it with his crew chief, which ultimately lead to him getting a new pit crew before his race in Atlanta. Wallace’s former crew pit was fined and suspended by NASCAR a couple of times this season, which included suspensions over a loose wheel.
Since Hamlin and Busch were disqualified, Chase Elliot, who finished third, was declared the winner, although he took no pleasure in it.
“For me, I don’t really feel right celebrating somebody’s misfortune,” said Elliot.
