Ideally, any NASCAR race should be concluded within three stages in the current format. But the recent Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway proved to be an exception.
Because there was a stage four, the post-race inspection which eventually turned out to be the one that decided the winner.
The thing is, Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag, the 49th of his career, followed by his teammate Kyle Busch, followed by Chase Elliott in third. It was all going well. The #11 driver was celebrating his win, giving interviews on the frontstretch, taking all the cheers and boos.
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But then the news came.
The winner was disqualified along with the second place car, handing the third place #9, the victory.
This was something that wasn’t taken well by NASCAR fans, as most of them smelled a conspiracy, something wrong with the way the situation was handled, announced, and disclosed.
Most certainly, that wasn’t the case, but well, fans are fans.
I call BS why wasn't it found during pre race inspection
— robert zielinski (@edj8844) July 25, 2022
Something with this ain’t right. NASCAR passed the cars through pre race inspection and it’s not possible to add material or manipulate the fascia during a race without it being obvious on a pit stop.
— Justin (@imjustjustin81) July 25, 2022
HOW DOES THIS PASS PRE RACE INSPECTION THEN? What an absolute joke. This isn’t something that changed all race, it was there before the race
— Shoot The Shift (@ShootTheShift) July 25, 2022
Surprise they don’t just give the win to Bubba Wallace 😂
— Shawn Daniels (@_WinRockyWin_) July 25, 2022
Bro is stuttering after every word. Can’t believe this lmao.
— Conor Meyburg (@cam18423) July 25, 2022
Chase Elliott won without even leading a single lap!
— Evie Ebitda (@EvieEbitda) July 25, 2022
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The statement from the NASCAR representative on the double DQ of #11 & #18
It was after the race, in a press conference, that the NASCAR representative, Brad Moran, announced the disqualification of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Moran described the issues from a macro-level, refusing to go into details.
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“There was some issues discovered that affect aero in the vehicle,” he said, speaking about the front fascias of the cars. “There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been. And that does basically come down to a DQ.”
Moran emphasized that they don’t want to talk about the problem because the teams and the owners are already aware of the strict path NASCAR decided to take with penalties, infringements, and such issues.
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“There’s some areas that all the teams are well aware that we can not go down the path that we had in the past with the other car,” he added.
Also Read: WATCH: The Pocono Wreck Bubba Wallace Called “The Hardest One” of His Career