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NASCAR: JGR's oil pans confiscated - penalties may follow

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Khatir Soltani
For the second time in one week the Joe Gibb Racing organization has run afoul of NASCAR officials.

NASCAR found unapproved oil pans on all three of the JGR Sprint Cup cars (#11 driven by Denny Hamlin, #18 driven by Kyle Busch, and the #20 driven by Joey Logano) prior to the first practice at Michigan International Speedway.

Under NASCAR regulations oil pans for Sprint Cup cars must be approved prior to arriving at race tracks. The unapproved parts were removed and will likely be taken to NASCAR R&D headquarters in Concord, N.C. for further inspection.

The teams were permitted to replace the offending part with a previously approved one, but, NASCAR may announce a penalty in points or fines next week.

Hamlin, trying to rebound back into Victory Lane, was asked about the offending oil pans. He explained: “We continue to evolve our cars and things like that through the course of a season. It’s just, all teams do.

“Usually when you have something new -- a new part -- sometimes you submit it and sometimes you don’t and I feel like this is probably one of the parts NASCAR wants you to submit.

“That’s probably the biggest issue they had with it: they showed up at the prom with a different date.”

Last week, after the Pocono race, Kyle Busch’s Toyota was found to be too low in the left front and he and his team were penalized six points.

“Yeah, we’ve talked a little bit this week and they found out what the problems were. It was in the front springs so we’ll see if we can get with the manufacturer and figure out how we can make sure heat will not be an issue,” explained Busch.


Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada