The Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.–NASCAR has penalized Joey Logano four days after his win at Richmond International Raceway, essentially stripping him of all benefits that came with the Monster Cup Series victory.
The sanctioning body yesterday issued Logano and Team Penske a L1 penalty for a rear suspension violation.
The infraction was discovered during teardown at the R&D Center in Concord, N.C.
Logano cannot use the Richmond win as consideration for an automatic playoff spot.
And should Logano still make the post-season, the five playoff points that come with a victory would not count.
The official race record still will list Logano as the winner.
The No. 22 team also was fined $50,000 and docked 25 driver points and 25 owner points.
Crew chief Todd Gordon was suspended two races.
Team Penske said it was disappointed by the decision but no appeal was planned.
Miles Stanley will serve as Logano’s crew chief this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, with Greg Erwin helping with race strategy.
Denny Hamlin’s car, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing entry, also was penalized yesterday for missing a lug nut during post-race inspection at Richmond.
