NASCAR penalized the No. 2 Penske Racing Sprint Cup team on Tuesday after its entry failed postrace inspection following Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway.
Defending series champion Brad Keselowski was docked six driver points after officials discovered the front of his car did not “meet the minimum front car heights," in violation of the NASCAR rulebook. The team also violated the rules covering actions detrimental to stock car racing and race equipment that is used in the event that does not conform to NASCAR rules, according to the sanctioning body.
Crew chief Paul Wolfe, who was already on probation following a violation concerning suspension parts discovered at Texas Motor Speedway, was fined $25,000 and remains on probation until Dec. 31. Team owner Roger Penske will also lose six owner points.
"The Penske Racing No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion experienced a part failure during Sunday's Dover Sprint Cup Series Race which resulted in the car's front end being too low when presented for post-race inspection," Penske Racing said in a statement. "The problem is being addressed internally to ensure it does not occur again and the team is not planning to appeal the penalty."
The Penske Racing teams of Keselowski and Joey Logano were penalized earlier this year following violations found in prerace inspection at Texas on April 13. Those penalties initially included suspensions of six points races for the crew chiefs, car chiefs, team engineers and competition director Travis Geisler. On appeal, the penalty was reduced to suspensions for two points races, plus the All-Star race, but the loss of 25 championship points and the $100,000 fine were upheld.
Keselowski drops to 10th in the standings following the penalty. He now trails points leader Jimmie Johnson by 104 points.
