NASCAR officials confiscated the two “C” post pillars of Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet, Friday, after inspectors found that they were modified outside of NASCAR specifications.
American sedans have three pillars. The “A” pillar is the first metal structure connecting the windshield and roof. The “B” pillars connect where the door would be and the “C” pillar connects the roof of the car to the trunk area. The team was permitted to obtain spare parts, flown in from Hendrick headquarters, and will go through inspection again on before Sprint Cup practice on Saturday morning. NASCAR officials told Auto123.com because the infraction happened before qualifying it was not deemed as serious as if it was found after qualifying. That is why the team was permitted to replace the offending parts and go through tech inspection again. All of this recalls 2006 when NASCAR confiscated Johnson’s Daytona 500 car after qualifying and suspended crew chief, Chad Knaus, for six races. Johnson came back and won two of those six races without Knaus. Last year Johnson’s No. 48 car was always picked as the “random car” for post race inspection at NASCAR R & D in Concord, NC after a radio transmission from Chad Knaus to Jimmie Johnson “to back it into the wall” after the conclusion of the Cup race in Talladega. Although the parts (pictured below) will be taken back to Concord NASCAR officials said that no penalties, if applicable, will be announced until after the conclusion of the season opening Daytona 500.
John Darby, NASCAR’s managing director of competition told Auto123.com that penalties have been imposed “many times before,” against teams who have technical violations even before they turn a lap. Only not to expect a penalty as severe as Knaus’ in 2006. Recent Articles
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