NASCAR: Denny Hamlin will lose more than 10 playoff points

Last week, NASCAR dropped the hammer on Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team for violating the engine inspection requirements after Toyota self-reported an infraction that stemmed from Hamlin's win at Bristol Motor Speedway back in mid-March.

The team was found in violation of Sections 14.7.1.E&F and 14.7.1.1.B&E of the NASCAR Rule Book, as the race-winning engine from Bristol was mistakenly rebuilt by Toyota before NASCAR could tear it down and inspect it.

Hamlin was docked 75 points and 10 playoff points, and although he kept his Bristol win, that win no longer counts for playoff eligibility or tiebreaker purposes. He still has two other wins, one at Richmond Raceway and another at Dover Motor Speedway, to keep himself locked into the four-round, 10-race postseason.

The reduction of 10 playoff points is huge for Hamlin. That amount is the equivalent of two race wins, and playoff points are points that are added to each championship eligible driver's point total after the points are reset to begin each playoff round (except the Championship 4).

There have been past instances in which drivers have advanced to a round by far fewer than a 10-point margin, including some in which drivers have advanced on a tiebreaker.

But the even more unfortunate reality for Hamlin is the fact that he is going to lose more than just 10 playoff points.

Before the 75-point penalty was applied, Hamlin was sitting in third place in the point standings, 28 points out of the lead.

He dropped to sixth place, 103 points behind, before Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway. Now he sits in eighth, 111 points behind, with only Sunday night's race at Darlington Raceway remaining on the regular season schedule.

Without the penalty, he would be in fourth place, 36 points behind, but instead, he is eliminated from regular season title contention.

Extra playoff points are awarded to drivers who finish the regular season in the top 10 in the point standings. The regular season champion scores 15, the runner-up scores 10, the third place finisher scores eight, and that total decreases by one per position from fourth down through 10th.

It remains to be seen just how impactful that 75-point penalty will be for Hamlin in the final regular season point standings. But as of right now, he would score three additional playoff points with an eighth place finish instead of seven with a fourth.

His playoff point total was reduced from 21 to 11 and would be 14 if the regular season ended today.

Without the penalty, it would be 28, which really equates to a reduction of 14 playoff points. That amount is significantly more than just 10 when you consider the margins that have decided who has advanced and who hasn't throughout the playoffs in past seasons.

Hamlin, whose 21 playoff points before the penalty came from three victories (five playoff points each) and six stage wins (one each), can still score more playoff points with more race wins and more stage wins throughout the rest of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, as long as he remains championship eligible.

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