LONG POND, Pa. — NASCAR stripped Denny Hamlin of his victory at Pocono Raceway when his No. 11 Toyota failed inspection and was disqualified, handing Chase Elliott the Cup Series win.
Joe Gibbs Racing had Hamlin’s car and Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota both disqualified. Hamlin lost his record seventh win at Pocono and his third win of the season. Busch led a career-high 63 laps.
NASCAR believed the last time it disqualified an apparent winner was April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at North Carolina’s Wilson Speedway was disallowed due to an oversized fuel tank .
The penalties can be appealed, and both Toyotas were sent to NASCAR’s research and development center in North Carolina.
“There were some issues discovered that affect the aerodynamics of the vehicle,” NASCAR Cup Series general manager Brad Moran said. “There was really no reason why there was any material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been. And that basically boils down to a DQ.”
Moran said the parts in question were the frontal fascia, essentially the nose cone, and that final decisions “should be decided next week.”
Elliott, who had finished third, got his fourth win of the season. He never led a lap in the No. 9 Chevrolet.
Moran said the inspections had “toughened up” with the introduction this season of a new car. The newest version of NASCAR is essentially a team car. The teams receive all the same parts from different suppliers and have detailed instructions on how to assemble them.
“We don’t want to be here talking about this problem,” Moran said. “But the teams and the owners and everyone knew that this new car was going to be held to pretty tight tolerances. There are some areas that all the teams know we can’t go the way we have in the past with the other car.”
The setbacks marred what had been a banner day for JGR.
Hamlin had seemingly won for the third time this season and passed Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon for most wins at Pocono with seven. Hamlin swept two races at Pocono in his rookie season in 2006 and added wins in 2009, 2010, 2019 and 2020. Now, he remains tied for the four-time NASCAR champion.
Hamlin had a lot to handle early on when pole corner marked the wall on the first lap. He recovered, at 400 miles on the 2 1/2-mile trioval, there are many races ahead, then he had to watch Busch lead most of the race. Oh, then there was that thorny issue of settling a lingering score with Ross Chastain.
Chastain wrecked Hamlin twice in a month earlier this season — Hamlin tallied twice since last season — and was fed up with the watermelon farmer’s aggressive driving. Hamlin refused to give his rival an inch on the restart at Pocono and forced Chastain into the wall with 16 laps remaining in the race. Chastain hit the wall and caused a wreck that brought together several drivers, including winless Kevin Harvick, who is fighting for a playoff spot.
“What did you want him to do? What did you expect him to do,” Hamlin asked immediately afterward.
Chastain, who has two wins this season driving for Trackhouse Racing, sheepishly understood she had to win.
“I think that’s something that’s been owed to me for a few months now,” Chastain said.
Hamlin also lost a tie with former teammate Tony Stewart on NASCAR’s career wins list with 49.
“We’ve been good friends and he’s definitely someone I look up to from a talent standpoint,” Hamlin said. “He was the guy who for 36 runs was a threat to win, and that’s what I hope to be some. day.”
Hamlin is pretty close: He’s a three-time Daytona 500 champion and co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan. The only blemish on his resume is the championship he hasn’t managed to win and the first DQ of his Cup career.
Hamlin’s young daughter burst into tears of joy and he sent her to retrieve the checkered flag. Taylor Hamlin took the flag as he slid out the passenger side window and took a victory lap around Pocono with dad behind the wheel.
YOU GAME
Ty Gibbs finished 16th for 23XI Racing in his first race at the start of the Cup filling in for the injured Kurt Busch.
Busch suffered a head injury during a hard crash Saturday in qualifying and was not cleared to compete by NASCAR’s medical staff. That opened the door for 19-year-old Gibbs.
In a pinch, Joe Gibbs’ grandson wore Busch’s firesuit and Hamlin’s shoes.
“I never thought I’d run with these guys,” Gibbs said. “It was great to be next to him on the court. For 10-year-old Ty, it means a lot.”
Grandpa Joe was quite proud. “I was discouraged because I couldn’t get more out of it,” Gibbs said. “I think he realizes how tough it is.”
THERE IS NO DEAL
Gibbs remains concerned that JGR still hasn’t reached a new contact with Kyle Busch.
“We had a couple of companies, we thought [were in] that ended up being a disappointment for us,” Gibbs said. “But it’s tough and it’s discouraging.”
UNTIL THE NEXT
IndyCar and NASCAR share next weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IndyCar races on road course Saturday; NASCAR races on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.