Great title, though accurate, not exactly the story.  Matt Kenseth and his team have been penalized for the dreaded actions detrimental to NASCAR. What happened is at the end of every race NASCAR takes the winning team’s car and a couple engines back to the research and development center of some more thorough inspection, inspection that would be impossible at the track.

NASCAR’s goal above all else is that completion is fair and no one is skirting the rules to get an advantage.  Love it or hate it but this is what keeps NASCAR functioning and competitive.  The actual verbiage of the ruling from NASCAR is below for reference.

The crux of the matter is one connecting rod (Rod that connects the crank shaft to the cylinder head) was 3 grams too light.  If the connecting rods are lighter than theoretically the engine would make more horsepower since it uses less of the developed horsepower to move the cylinders up and down.

To say the penalty was stiff is an understatement.  50 points essentially eliminates the points Matt and his team got from running the race. He would have more points if he had simply not run the race.  Although he gets to keep the win, he doesn’t get the benefit of the win when it comes to making the Chase. He will lose his crew chief for six points paying races but also the all-star race.  All of that is bad enough but Joe Gibbs Racing will not get any owners points for those same six races.  This in itself means the No. 20 car cannot win the owners championship.

So everyone is asking and talking about these severe penalties. Are they excessive or are they in keeping with NASCAR policies.  Here is where the “two” of me splits.

On the one hand, I get that NASCAR has been and always will be of the stance that competitors cannot, should not ever mess with the engine. That is the very reason why NASCAR was seemingly so harsh on the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team of Matt Kenseth.

The engineer in me wonders why NASCAR can’t use a little discretion and common sense to determine if a team is cheating or not. Let me explain why.  There are eight connecting rods in an engine.  Having eight connecting rods that are lighter than allowed would most certainly give a team a competitive advantage. They deserve punishment in a major way.

With one connecting rod light out of eight it actually would be a competitive disadvantage.  The connecting rods and the crank shaft work together to convert the power of individually firing cylinders in to horse power, to smooth that power out. If one of eight was able to make more power than the engine would be out of balance, there would be added stress on the engine and a higher possibility of failure. There is no way Toyota Racing Development (TRD) or any other manufacturer would want that. I would hope that NASCAR could take this into account when levying fines and penalties.

Joe Gibbs Racing will appeal the penalties so nothing will change until after the appeal is heard. JGR’s penalties are very similar to Carl Longs a few years ago when his engine was marginally larger than allowed. To this day Carl still can’t compete in the Sprint Cup Series because he can’t afford to pay the fine. Who knows what will happen but we have yet another drama unfolding in the next couple months to watch for.

Brian Berg Jr. is a NASCAR writer for www.RantSports.com.

Follow him on Twitter @brian_jr1 during the race and throughout the week for more NASCAR news and commentary. On Facebook at NASCAR News and Commentary. On Pinterest at NASCARnews. Also add to your network on Google.

NASCAR Press Release of penalties to the No. 20 Team

Penalties have been handed down to the No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team as a result of rule violations discovered in the post-race engine inspection April 23 at the NASCAR Research and Development Center.

The No. 20 car was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-5.5.3 (E) (Only magnetic steel connecting rods with a minimum weight of 525.0 grams will be permitted; connecting rod failed to meet the minimum connecting rod weight) of the 2013 rule book.

As a result of this violation, NASCAR has assessed the following penalties:

·         Crew chief Jason Ratcliff has been fined $200,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (a period of time that also includes the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race).

·         Car owner Joe Gibbs has lost 50 championship car owner points; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points toward the accumulated aggregate car owner points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a car owner Wild Card position; has had the owner’s license for the No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car suspended until the completion of the next six championship points events, therefore being ineligible to receive championship car owner points during that period of time.

·         Driver Matt Kenseth has lost 50 championship driver points; the Coors Light Pole award from April 19 at Kansas Speedway will not be allowed for eligibility into the 2014 Sprint Unlimited; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points toward the accumulated aggregate driver points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a driver Wild Card position.

·         The loss of five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championship points.