NASCAR
Penalty Drastically Alters Playoff Points Standings Heading Into Phoenix Elimination Race
After last Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, the Playoff points standings had a wide gap at the cut line. It appeared that the only way the Championship 4 would change after Phoenix was by an outside winner. However, after NASCAR issued a major penalty to race-winner Kevin Harvick’s team, the Playoff points standings are now much tighter. This Sunday, 7 drivers are racing for 3 spots in the title fight. This battle is now much closer for those on the outside looking in.
Kevin Harvick’s Penalty Explained
After a dominating win on Sunday, Kevin Harvick’s number 4 Ford was 1 of 3 cars that NASCAR took back to their R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina. This practice is typical for every race weekend, to further inspect cars by conducting a full tear down. During this intensified search, NASCAR found an issue with the 4 car’s spoiler. It was offset to the right by roughly 1/5 of an inch. This narrow margin is invisible to the naked eye or to at-track inspection. However, this did provide the 4 car with more downforce, since the spoiler was in yaw.
On Wednesday, NASCAR threw down the gauntlet on the 4 team. Their win was ruled encumbered with an L1 Penalty. As a result, Kevin Harvick is no longer guaranteed into the Championship 4. In addition, he lost 40 Driver and Owner Points. For the remaining 2 races of 2018, Harvick will race without valuable crew members. Crew Chief Rodney Childers and Car Chief Robert ‘Cheddar’ Smith will not be at Phoenix or Homestead. Childers was also fined $75,000.
Playoff Points Standings Shuffle
The loss of 40 points takes Harvick from the top of the Playoff points standings back to 4th place. The 4 team is now just 3 points above the cut line. This moves 5th through 8th in points much closer to a transfer position for Homestead. In addition, both Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr move up a spot. They are both now 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Playoff points standings.
At 5th in points, Kurt Busch is now just 3 points behind his teammate Harvick, he was previously -25. Chase Elliott, still at 6th in the Playoff points standings, has a narrowed deficit from 39 to 17. Harvick’s remaining teammates, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer, still round out the Playoffs at 7th and 8th in points. They are both still in a must-win scenario at Phoenix too, being 35 and 51 points below the cut line.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Reaction
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Competition Director Greg Zipadelli explained that the 4 team would not appeal this penalty. Zipadelli went on to state that “We work tirelessly across every inch of our race cars to create speed and, unfortunately, NASCAR determined we ventured into an area not accommodated by its rule book. We will direct our immediate focus to this weekend’s event in Phoenix and control our destiny on the race track.” SHR also announced the 4 team’s interim crew chief, production manager Tony Gibson.
Gibson is no stranger to the role of crew chief, as he has sat atop the pit box for 15 previous seasons. Gibson’s most recent win as a crew chief was the 2017 Daytona 500, with Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kurt Busch.
Can Harvick Still Make the Championship 4?
At his current position in the Playoff points standings, Kevin Harvick would narrowly make the championship finale. However, expect the 4 car to be a favorite for the win on Sunday. Phoenix’s ISM Raceway has been Harvick’s personal playground in recent years. He has won in 7 of the last 12 trips to the desert mile. In total, Harvick has 9 wins in Phoenix, which is the most all-time. During that time period, Harvick’s worst Phoenix finish was a 13th place effort. This was his only showing outside of the top 10 dating back to 2012.
Harvick’s last Phoenix win was earlier this year. Oddly enough, that Phoenix win came the week after another L1 Penalty, for Harvick’s illegal rear window at Las Vegas. Can history repeat itself on Sunday? It’s very possible, as the Las Vegas sports book has Harvick as the favorite for the win, with 5/8 odds.
Can Harvick score another win at Phoenix, in another act of retribution following a penalty? If so, it will be without his cunning crew chief or car chief. Harvick is now as determined as ever to chase down the win, which may spell dangers for the competition. Tune in on Sunday to see if Harvick can score the vengeful win at his strongest track.
