NASCAR: Kevin Harvick penalized following Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas
By Asher Fair
Kevin Harvick has been penalized following his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas.
Kevin Harvick and the #4 Stewart-Haas Racing team have been issued an L1 penalty for two violations that were found during teardown following the Pennzoil 400, NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past Sunday.
The penalties came as a result of violations dealing with rear window support and rocket panel extensions, according to NASCAR.com.
Here is what the NASCAR.com staff report states.
"“A brace that supports the rear window failed and did not meet specifications for keeping the rear window glass rigid in all directions, at all times. Additionally, the rocker panel extension was not aluminum.”"
Harvick will keep the race win, which was his second win in a row, but he will lose 20 points in the championship standings as a result of the penalty after earning 60 points in the race, with 10 coming from him winning the first stage, another 10 coming from him winning the second stage, and the other 40 coming from him winning the race.
Harvick will also not be able to keep the seven playoff points he earned throughout the race to apply to his point total once the playoffs roll around. Of these seven playoff points, one came from winning the first stage of the race, another one came from winning the second stage of the race, and the other five came from winning the race.
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The win itself will also not count toward making Harvick an automatic qualifier for the playoffs, but he is set to go to the playoffs anyway despite this penalty because of the fact that he already won in Atlanta earlier this season. Therefore, this particular part of the penalty is essentially meaningless.
Harvick, who had 135 points and was the championship leader prior to being penalized, has dropped to a 3rd place tie in the standings with 115 points. Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have moved up to 1st and 2nd, respectively. Logano has earned 132 points so far this season, while Blaney has earned 131.
The NASCAR Cup Series standings pages on Beyond the Flag have been updated to reflect the aftermath of Harvick’s penalty. However, the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings and NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings following the Pennzoil 400 will remain as they are.
That said, expect the necessary changes to be made to the formula variables affected by Harvick’s penalty in preparation for the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings and NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings following the TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona this Sunday.
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With only three races of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season having been completed so far, how many more penalties like the one given to Kevin Harvick will be issued throughout the season? Will NASCAR continue to crack down on these violations? Will teams step up to ensure that these violations do not happen?