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In a stunning development, NASCAR announced Sunday evening that Chase Elliott has been declared the winner of the M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway after both Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch's cars failed post-race tech inspection.
After Hamlin took the checkered flag in Sunday's race with Kyle Busch just behind him in second, both Joe Gibbs Racing cars failed post-race inspection, resulting in both drivers being disqualified from Sunday's race. As a result, Elliott -- who crossed the finish line third -- was declared the winner per the NASCAR rulebook.
The victory marks Elliott's fourth of the 2022 season and the 17th of his career. This marks the first time that the winner of a Cup Series race has been disqualified for failing post-race inspection since NASCAR resumed the practice of stripping wins from cars deemed illegal in 2019.
According to NASCAR, the infractions on the No. 11 Toyota driven by Hamlin and the No. 18 Toyota driven by Busch both concerned the aerodynamics in the front fascia, though Cup Series managing director Brad Morgan did not offer specifics on what the exact infraction was in comments made to the media.
"There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere where it shouldn't have been. And that does basically come down to a DQ," Moran said.
Both Hamlin and Busch's teams will have the opportunity to appeal the penalty by noon on Monday, July 25, according to NASCAR. Both cars will be taken back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C. for further inspection.
This marks the first time that NASCAR has stripped a driver of a victory in a NASCAR Cup Series race for failing post-race tech inspection in 62 years. In an April 1960 race at Wilson Speedway, Emanuel Zervakis was disqualified for having a fuel tank that was too large, leading to NASCAR awarding the win to Joe Weatherly.
It's also the first time that the top two finishers in a race have been disqualified since a race at West Palm Beach in December of 1955, when both Weatherly and second-place finisher Jim Reed were stripped of their finishing positions for an illegal camshaft and illegal valves, respectively. The win was awarded to Herb Thomas, who finished third.
Here is a recap of Sunday's race written immediately after the checkered flag. Some details have been modified to reflect the official finishing results:
After a quick pit stop allowed Ross Chastain to take the lead from Kyle Busch during a cycle of green flag stops, Hamlin had made his way to second and was looking to run down Chastain when a crash by Ryan Blaney brought out a caution with 23 laps to go. That pitted Chastain and Hamlin side-by-side on the ensuing restart, which is where things got really interesting.
Denny Hamlin runs Ross Chastain up the racetrack and into the wall! #NASCAR 📺 : @USA_Network 🖥 : https://t.co/oRf9K5NyTp pic.twitter.com/JakNm7AuwO
At a disadvantage on the bottom of the track in Turn 1, Hamlin got an angle off the corner by force, leaning into Chastain's door as the two exited the corner side-by-side for the lead. The aggressive move by Hamlin ran Chastain wide and up the racetrack, where he hit the outside wall and then shot down into the path of Kevin Harvick, who spun Chastain around and into the inside wall.
All optics suggested that Hamlin's move was payback against Chastain for two incidents in the past two months at Gateway and Atlanta. On his account, Hamlin made it clear that he was going to stand his ground given the way he has been raced by Chastain as well as others.
"I mean, what'd you want me to do? What'd you expect me to do?", Hamlin asked rhetorically in his post-race interview. "We got position on him, and he just ran out of racetrack ... We're gonna just keep racing hard until we get the respect back from these guys.
"It's not just that -- we've been wrecked four times, twice while leading, in the last 10 months. I'm at the end of it."
While Hamlin did not directly answer whether or not the score was now settled between himself and Chastain, Chastain seemed to accept it as such, acknowledging that Hamlin has owed him one.
"I think that's something that's been owed to me for a few months now," Chastain told NBC Sports. "... I've been owed that and probably some more for a few months now."
Unfortunately, Hamlin's move on Chastain came with some collateral damage for a driver trying to make the playoffs. Harvick's contact with Chastain led to Harvick going from running fourth to finishing 29th. As a result, Harvick is now 83 points back of Martin Truex Jr. for the final spot in the playoffs on points with five races to go.
While Hamlin's day saw him go all the way up and then all the way down, his 23XI Racing team had plenty of ups and downs to deal with themselves. After a crash in qualifying on Saturday left him suffering from concussion-like symptoms, Kurt Busch was not cleared to race by NASCAR on Sunday morning. That meant that Ty Gibbs -- a NASCAR Xfinity Series star and the grandson of Joe Gibbs -- was tabbed to fill in for Busch and make his Cup Series debut behind the wheel of the No. 45.
Gibbs spent much of the race logging laps in his first action behind the wheel of a Cup car, but he was able to make the experience he gained count by the finish. Gibbs ran up inside the top 15 late in the race before settling in to finish a respectable 16th.
Whether or not Gibbs' substitute services will continue to be needed remains to be seen. A statement by Busch released on Sunday suggested that he was targeting a return to competition next week at Indianapolis.
The NASCAR Cup Series hits the bricks next weekend, as they head to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second-ever race around the track's infield road course. The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
NASCAR has disqualified both race winner Denny Hamlin and second-place finisher Kyle Busch for failing post-race tech inspection. As a result, third-place finisher Chase Elliott has been declared as the winner of the M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono.
1 - #9 - Chase Elliott 2 - #8 - Tyler Reddick 3 - #99 - Daniel Suarez 4 - #20 - Christopher Bell 5 - #5 - Kyle Larson 6 - #34 - Michael McDowell 7 - #19 - Martin Truex Jr. 8 - #23 - Bubba Wallace 9 - #43 - Erik Jones 10 - #3 - Austin Dillon
As Mariah Carey once said, "I don't know her". 💅 pic.twitter.com/5xw3HKuKyp
#NASCAR ... Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain offer their viewpoints on what happened between them late in the race at Pocono ... https://t.co/aXM8oWLZnq
Today's winner is answering more questions! @dennyhamlin is inside the @PoconoRaceway media center right now. 👇 https://t.co/s1GByBrYud
The context of smoke pouring out the back of your car is very important. pic.twitter.com/opzbHhGjzS
"Never thought I'd race with these guys. Just cool being next to them on the track." 19-year-old @TyGibbs_ finishes 18th in his @NASCAR Cup Series debut with @23XIRacing. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ySPZMpwubO
Denny Hamlin puts together a strong finish as he earns his 7TH #NASCAR victory at @PoconoRaceway! pic.twitter.com/eHjw3hdIhy
😴 @dennyhamlin // @PoconoRaceway pic.twitter.com/EwSxdvx5VC
Wholesome content ❤️❤️ Taylor isn't forgetting this one any time soon. pic.twitter.com/IqrCeosJ58
#NASCAR ... Here is how the field finished in Sunday's Cup race at Pocono Raceway. https://t.co/6jDK8h9McB
What a day for @TyGibbs_. 👏 Filling in for Kurt Busch to make his @NASCAR Cup Series debut, the @23XIRacing driver drove from the rear of the field all the way up to 18th. pic.twitter.com/80EIQ8Gdlz
Everything but the dub. 👏 Well done, @KyleBusch! pic.twitter.com/wZ0TaOzV9N
.@RossChastain has a perspective on the contact with @dennyhamlin 👇 pic.twitter.com/EaJgfkvrt0
"What did you want me to do?"@dennyhamlin addressed how he raced Ross Chastain late at @PoconoRaceway en route to his win. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6d98WVbpfT
"What'd you want me to do?" pic.twitter.com/qphl8IhQTU
#NASCAR Denny Hamlin runs strong late in the day to win Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at Pocono Raceway https://t.co/vPOTGrk00G
Burn it down, @dennyhamlin! 💨💨 pic.twitter.com/tcNL0HsPZ0
RETWEET to congratulate @dennyhamlin! By winning today at @PoconoRaceway, the @ToyotaRacing driver is the winningest driver at the Tricky Triangle, AND... He's now tied with Tony Stewart on the all-time wins list with 49! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/jSbQ4UOanJ
RETWEET to congratulate @dennyhamlin! 🏁 He WINS at @PoconoRaceway for a record SEVENTH time! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/cFJVhZC6Ko
The spin and win!! 🏁🏁🏁@dennyhamlin and the No. 11 team win a dramatic race at @PoconoRaceway! pic.twitter.com/S14MIRqYUr
Hamlin extends his lead once again. The advantage is now up to a second, and should stay that way as long as the fuel cell holds. White flag.
Busch starting to reel Hamlin back in just a touch. It's back down to six tenths of a second coming to two to go.
Hamlin starting to open his lead back up. Four laps to go.
Further back in the Top 10, Kyle Larson takes seventh from Michael McDowell.
Kyle Busch is starting to close the gap somewhat. It's now six tenths of a second bordering down towards just half a second. Five laps to go for Denny Hamlin.
5 laps to go! Does @dennyhamlin have enough fuel? Will the No. 18 catch him? 📺: @USA_Network 📲: https://t.co/r61CT6jvrS pic.twitter.com/ELOJMFHdYT
Denny Hamlin now has an eight tenths of a second lead on Kyle Busch with eight laps to go. Hamlin told he's likely good on fuel from here to the finish.
Christopher Bell now side-by-side with Tyler Reddick for fourth. Close quarters off Turn 3 and down the frontstretch! That's brought Daniel Suarez right to these two.
Hamlinm and Busch both pull away from the rest of the field. Chase Elliott now has his hands full with Tyler Reddick in fourth.
New player in the Top 10: Michael McDowell has made it all the way up to seventh.
Not for anything, but weather might be an issue here before the finish. The skies are darkening off Turn 2, and even if it doesn't rain, lightning in the area might be enough to stop this race prematurely.
Green flag with 13 laps to go.
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