iNSIDE SCOOP: Push Came to Shove

Denny Hamlin has the unenviable honor of being the first to find out just how heavy a hammer NASCAR has when it comes to penalties under its revised guidelines. It is pretty darn heavy. Seventy-five driver points, 75 owner points and the loss of crew chief Darian Grubb for six races is how heavy NASCAR went. It’s a P5 infraction, the first that high under the new guidelines, and the appeals process is going to get a workout too, as Joe Gibbs Racing immediately appealed. Get the popcorn, because that’s going to be interesting. At issue was a pair of firewall vent plates at the rear of the car. The idea is that those plates seal the interior of the car to prevent air from cycling through and adding downforce, as much as 25-30 pounds of it on the rear. This is the same thing that got Carl Edwards a few years ago, though it was an oil tank lid in that case. Any time air enters the inside of the car it adds downforce. You can’t have the shifter boot loose, even, because air is a fluid, in terms of aerodynamics, and it will find a way to pass over, under or through a structure. When it does, it puts pressure on the surfaces it passes (hence, downforce). Rear downforce, at a place like Indy, is more precious than gold. The place is flatter than the U.S. economy, and it’s a square, so there’s no saving grace of long, sweeping corners. I can see why it was done. The bigger question is, there’s now tangible proof that NASCAR’s new penalty process has teeth. Big, sharp teeth, too. There is an appeal planned, but Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill are beginning their suspensions this weekend at Pocono. That’s a hedge against missing any Chase races if the appeal is denied. I’m waiting to see how that works out. My guess is, it won’t be a “appeal denied, but the commissioner says, ‘OK, don’t do it again and we’ll let you off with a warning.’” That’s what happened with the last couple of appeals under Commissioner John Middlebrook, and NASCAR was none too pleased with the outcomes. What is the use of trying to send a message when it constantly gets diluted?