Brad Keselowski’s car was held in the pits longer than it’s crew would have hoped at Pocono Raceway this afternoon thanks to a fender slam by one of his crew members that got caught by NASCAR officials. NASCAR told them to put the fender back, and the crew was just like, “What? No.”
Dents on the side of the car increase aerodynamic sideforce and improve handling on ovals like Pocono, so teams aren’t allowed to dent the cars themselves, moving the bodywork outside of NASCAR’s legal specifications. NASCAR perceives this as an unfair advantage when teams hip-check the side of the car.
As commentator and sweet, retired old man Jeff Gordon points out, the team had a tool ready to pull out the dent. Instead, they decided to throw their hands up in a show of “nuh-huh” instead of getting right on that. Additionally, Keselowski was given a stop-and-go penalty to serve afterwards for the offense, per Fox Sports.
This isn’t the first time Keselowski’s No. 2 team has been busted for messing with their rear fenders, either. C’mon, guys. At least find a way to be more subtle about it.
