The Stewart-Haas Racing team was dealt an L3-level penalty by NASCAR, the most severe penalty under the sanctioning body’s deterrence system.
This penalty comes after NASCAR discovered that the No. 14 car, driven by Chase Briscoe, had a counterfeit part. It is in direct violation of multiple sections of the NASCAR Rule Book, including a section that prohibits counterfeiting a Next Gen single source vendor-supplied part.
The penalty to Briscoe and his team is pretty severe. Briscoe’s No. 14 team has been docked 120 points in both the owner standings and driver standings. On top of that, a $250,000 fine was issued to the team, and crew chief John Klausmeier has been issued a suspension in the next six points races.
If Briscoe ends up making the postseason, he will also be docked an additional loss of 25 playoff points.
NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer discussed the penalty towards Stewart-Haas Racing, saying that this is “not a culture” they will allow.
“In the post-race inspection at the R&D Center, we found the No. 14 car had an engine panel NACA duct not in compliance with the rule book,” Sawyer told NASCAR.com. “It is a counterfeit part, and that is an L3 penalty. We need to make sure we’re keeping the teams and the car in compliance. The deterrence model has to fit that, and that’s our responsibility as custodians of the sport and of the garage.
“Don’t mess with a single-source part. Working in areas we used to in the Gen-6 car, is just not going to be acceptable with this car as we move forward. It’s not going to be the culture we’re going to allow.”
