No. 5 Sprint Cup team docked 15 driver points – Nascar

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NASCAR officials handed down a P3-grade penalty Wednesday to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 team of driver Kasey Kahne for infractions last weekend at Dover International Speedway.

The Hendrick No. 5 team was found in violation of sections 20.17.3.1.2 (post-race general inspection measurements); 12.5.3.4.2 a, b, c, d; and 12.5.3.4.1 n,o (that spell out P3 penalty examples) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.

NASCAR fined crew chief Keith Rodden $25,000 and assessed Rick Hendrick a loss of 15 championship owner points and Kahne a loss of 15 championship driver points.

Kahne was 16th in the Chase Grid before his penalty. With the 15-point deduction, AJ Allmendinger climbs into the 16th and final postseason spot as it stands today.

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A NASCAR spokesperson announced after Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism that the No. 5 Chevrolet failed the post-race laser inspection. The car was taken for further evaluation at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Kahne’s fourth-place finish at the Monster Mile matched a season best, equaling the fourth-place result he achieved at Richmond last month.

In a press release, Hendrick Motorsports said it would not appeal the penalty.

“We had an unintentional issue at Dover when our left- and right-side truck arms were bent at some point during the race,” No. 5 crew chief Keith Rodden said. “I’m disappointed in NASCAR’s decision, but we have to accept it and focus on the upcoming races. We have a great team with a lot of positive momentum that we hope to carry into the summer.”
 
NASCAR officials also penalized the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 team in the Camping World Truck Series after its second-place finish last Friday at Dover.

The No. 51 Toyota operation was assessed a P2 for violations of sections 20.17.3.2.1 a, b, c; 12.5.3.3.1 g; and 12.5.3.3.2 a, b, c, d of the NASCAR Rule Book. Crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion was fined $6,000 and placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31. The team was assessed with the loss of 10 championship owner points.

NASCAR officials announced after the Jacob Companies 200 that the No. 51 truck was found too high in the left rear during a post-race inspection. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series scrapped rules on ride heights before the 2014 season, but the regulations remain in place for the other two NASCAR national series.

Daniel Suarez, who competes full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, logged the fourth runner-up finish of his Truck Series career in Friday’s 200-miler.

In other penalty news from Dover:

— The No. 23 (David Ragan) in Sprint Cup and the No. 25 (Ryan Ellis) in XFINITY received P1s for violations of section 12.5.3.2.1 a — “failure by the driver or crew members to properly wear or secure mandatory safety apparel or equipment (i.e. head socks, under garments, helmet face shields, shoes, gloves, etc.) in accordance with the NASCAR Rules” — and a crew member for each team was fined $1,000.

— The Nos. 7 (Regan Smith), 42 (Kyle Larson), 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) in Sprint Cup received written warnings for failing pre-race laser inspection twice, and the No. 24 (Chase Elliott) was given a written warning for failing pre-race template inspection twice.

— The No. 18 (Matt Tifft) in XFINITY received a written warning for failing pre-race laser inspection twice.

— The No. 07 (Cj Faison) in the Camping World Truck Series received a written warning because truck trailing arms did not meet specifications.