The National Motorsports Appeals Panel has cleared Joe Gibbs Racing of any wrong doing in regard to a penalty NASCAR assessed Chase Briscoe’s team following the season opening Daytona 500.
The penalty dealt with the vehicle assembly rules and the Toyota’s spoiler. NASCAR gave a four-race suspension to crew chief James Small, a $100,000 fine to Gibbs and a loss of 100 championship points and 10 playoff points to Gibbs and Briscoe. That left Briscoe, who won the pole for the Daytona 500, 45th in the driver standings after the prestigious race.
However, on Wednesday, the Appeals Panel determined that after hearing testimony, JGR, Small and Briscoe didn’t violate the rules set forth in the penalty.
“Biggest points day of my career!” Briscoe posted on X (formerly Twitter). “We’re back!
“In all seriousness, thank you to NASCAR for giving us the option to show our evidence and huge thank you to everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, who put in countless hours to put everything together.
“A lot of people keep saying I’m lucky to be where I am … Just wanted to clarify that I’m not lucky, I’m blessed.”
In reaching its decision, the three-person panel said it believed the elongation of some of the holes on the number 19 Cup car spoiler was caused by the process of attaching that specific spoiler base to the rear deck and not modification of the single source part.
The panel was comprised of Dixon Johnston, Hunter Nickell and Cathy Rice.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.