Penske driver Joey Logano’s victory at last weekend’s Richmond NASCAR Cup round will not count towards the playoffs after a penalty.
Logano scored his first win of the 2017 season at Richmond, having started from last place on the grid and quickly worked his way up the order.
However, his car failed post-race technical checks at NASCAR’s R&D facility, therefore the win has been declared “encumbered”.
NASCAR confirmed that it had discovered a rear suspension problem on Logano’s No.22 Ford during the inspection and teardown process.
This was a violation of Section 20 of the NASCAR rules. Penske confirmed it would not appeal the decision.
It means Logano cannot use the Richmond win for an automatic spot in the Cup playoffs. If he does make the playoffs, he will not receive the five playoff bonus points for the victory.
However, despite the penalty, Logano is still the official winner of the Richmond race.
A $50,000 fine has also been issued and crew chief Todd Gordon has been suspended for two races.
Logano was docked 25 driver points and Penske has lost 25 owner points too.
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