NASCAR
Stewart-Haas No. 14 Found with Counterfeit Next Gen Part, Given L3 Penalty
CONCORD, N.C. – NASCAR gave out one of the largest penalties in history to the Stewart-Haas Racing team of Chase Briscoe. Following Monday’s Coca-Cola 600, the No. 14 Ford was taken back to the R&D Center for teardown. During this strict inspection, a counterfeit part was discovered.
As a result of this illegal piece, Briscoe’s team now suffers a massive L3 infraction. The penalty includes: losing 120 driver and owner points, also losing 25 Playoff points should Briscoe and the team qualify for the postseason and a $250,000 fine and suspension in the next six points races for crew chief Johnny Klausmeier.
The illegal part found on the Mustang was a NACA duct in the engine panel assembly. NASCAR says that teams messing with NACA ducts could increase downforce on racecars.
NASCAR deemed the 14 team broke rulebook Section 14.1F, which prohibits counterfeiting a Next Gen single source vendor-supplied part, Section 14.6.A Underwing, and 14.6.3B Engine Panel Assembly.
Stewart-Haas Racing addressed this wrongdoing in a statement. “We had a quality control lapse and a part that never should’ve been on a car going to the racetrack ended up on the No. 14 car at Charlotte. We accept NASCAR’s decision and will not appeal.”
By losing the 120 points, Briscoe drops from 17th to 31st in the standings, 124 points out of the top-16. The 14’s 2023 Playoff future is now very much in doubt. Briscoe now is all but in must-win territory for the last 12 races of the regular season. Rookie Ty Gibbs is now the first man outside of the top 16, only 15 points behind Alex Bowman.
A penalty of this magnitude happening in May all but derails the 2023 season for the 14. This L3 infraction puts Briscoe at do-or-die for the postseason, but also erases any Playoff points he will likely gain. The 14 team was already at a disadvantage this season. Their road back to the Playoffs just got significantly steeper.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
