NASCAR confiscates altered splitters from 11, 18 & 19 Toyotas (Update)
11/09/15
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| The JGR Toyotas may face penalties |
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas driven by Denny Hamlin (11), Kyle Busch (18) and Carl Edwards (19) were all forced to surrender their front splitters and replace them with ones that were unaltered as the cars rolled through pre-race inspection for the AAA Texas 500. NASCAR officials said the confiscated carbon-fiber splitters, "did not fit the gauges" and would be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, N.C. for further scrutiny. The splitter on the No. 20 car being driven by Erik Jones, who is subbing for the suspended Matt Kenseth, did not have any issues.
Edwards' crew chief, Darian Grubb, was angry as he spoke briefly to Kickin' the Tires and confirmed NASCAR was forcing them to change the splitters.
A close inspection of photos taken by Kickin' the Tires appeared to show they were altered in a manner that made them look concaved. A source in the garage, who was watching the situation play out, explained that some type of resin or Bondo was used to misshape the splitters in a manner to let the car run lower to the track. The source said the resin would wear down easier and not impact the handling of the car as it went into the corners.
Despite the cars being on public display for hundreds of fans and other media members to gawk at — sort of a public shaming by the sanctioning body — several crew members on the No. 11 team cursed a photographer and tried to block his view as he took photos of the misshapen parts.
The matter is similar to what happened with the Team Penske No. 2 and No. 22 cars at Michigan International Speedway earlier this year but those splitters hadn’t been altered by adding resin, according to the source. kickinthetires.net