NASCAR has dropped the hammer on the No. 24 Chevrolet following last week’s race in Chicagoland.
The sanctioning body ruled that Chase Elliott‘s car was found in violation off section 0.20 in the rule book- “modification of components to affect the aerodynamic properties of the vehicle”.
With his Chicagoland finish becoming encumbered, Elliott has lost the playoff point he received for winning stage two of the race. The team has lost 15 driver and owner points and both the crew chief (Alan Gustafson) and car chief (Joshua Kirk) have been suspended for one race. Gustafson has also been penalized $25,000.
It was expected that Elliott’s team would face a penalty following Chicagoland. A Reddit user posted videosĀ showing the team pulling a piece of tape off the car’s spoiler, which supposedly increased the downforce on the runner up in Sunday’s race. It was later confirmed by reporters on Twitter that the garage was at least aware of the modification.
I have no clue. Don't even know if it's illegal. I do know it was bouncing around other teams all day and they are calling attn to it. https://t.co/l3cXwX17lQ
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 19, 2017
Hendrick Motorsports announced they will not appeal the penalty and Kenny Francis, former long time crew chief for Kasey Kahne, will be the crew chief for Elliott this weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The No. 20 Toyota in the Cup Series and the No. 98 Ford in the XFINITY Series were also penalized for loose lug nuts. No. 20 crew chief Jason Ratcliff was fined $10,000 and No. 98 crew chief Johnathan Hanson was fined $5,000.
About the author
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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