Being A Daytona 500 Pole Winner Comes With A Huge NASCAR Fine, Again

For the second year in a row, NASCAR has hit the Daytona 500 pole winner with a huge fine. Chase Briscoe learned on February 19 his team Joe Gibbs Racing was fined $100,000 thanks to a spoiler officials say was modified.

Jeremy Clarkson is doing yet another car show.

The team also suffered a loss of points, 100 for the driver/owner and 10 playoff points, sitting now at negative 67 points in the official standings. That means Briscoe went from tenth in the field to thirty-ninth. He also can’t even begin to accumulate positive points until Circuit of the Americas, the third race in the season. All that for a spoiler base that officials say was allegedly modified.

The fine levied against the team was $100,000. Plus, James Small, the crew chief, has been suspended for the next four races.

For its part, Joe Gibbs Racing said it’s appealing, reports the AP. We don’t know if that will yield anything, but the team says “the issue in question was caused in the assembly process when bolts used to attach the spoiler base to the deck lid caused the pre-drilled holes to wear due to supplied part interferences.”

This is the second year in a row the Daytona 500 pole winner has been hit with a big fine. For last year’s race, officials alleged Joey Logano was wearing an illegal glove for his qualifying run, giving him an unfair advantage.

Some NASCAR fans say the spoiler issue with Briscoe’s car is yet another example of too many rules and restrictions in the sport, claiming it ruins the fun. Maybe they’re JGR or Briscoe fans, or maybe they feel the wild, free nature of NASCAR has been crushed by conformity.

Others disagree, wishing openly the consequences for cheating were more severe. You really can’t please everyone no matter what you do, especially in NASCAR.

Image via chasebriscoe/Instagram