Denny Hamlin’s celebration after winning Saturday was a bit preamature as it turned out.
For the third time in three years Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing team have been busted for cheating after winning at Darlington Raceway. In the fall of 2017, Hamlin’s victories in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series 200 and Cup Series 500 were “encumbered” when his Toyotas failed post-race tech inspection.
Saturday, after coming from last on the grid to impressively win the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, Hamlin’s No. 18 Toyota failed the left-front height measurement. But instead of just another meaningless “encumbered” ruling similar to 2017, Hamlin and JGR were disqualified and moved to the bottom of the official results. Runner-up Cole Custer in a Ford was named the new winner.
“It’s crazy. It’s a way to win it, a ‘strange’ way to win it,” Custer said. “I wish I’d been able to pass him. Him being low isn’t why he won that race. At the same time, that’s the rules we live by and everybody has the same deal. Everybody’s been bit by it at some point, so it’s cool. We get to have some more playoff points and this is the momentum that we needed.”
Pole-starter Ryan Blaney led 50 laps and Tyler Reddick led 70, then Hamlin led the final 27. The final official results show Custer and Reddick 1-2, then Blaney, Christopher Bell, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Briscoe, Brandon Jones, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier and Austin Cindric. After the DSQ, Hamlin was scored dead-last 38th.
“We want every team to have the same (competitive) opportunity,” said Xfinity Series director Wayne Auten. “We check all the cars the same way before qualifying and before the race, and we check some of them randomly after the race. Today, after the race, the 18 car (of Hamlin) was found low.
“We’re in the middle of 15-week stretch and the playoffs are coming. (As a full-timer Cup driver, Hamlin will not be involved with the Xfinity Playoffs). Everybody is pushing everything they can to get that little (extra) they can to win a race.”
Saturday marked the fourth time this year NASCAR has disqualified an Xfinity team. Bell’s third-place at Chicago in June was vacated and A.J. Allmendinger was disqualified from third at Daytona Beach in July and from second at Watkins Glen in August.
Hey @ColeCuster, I got something that’s your’s.?. I’ll meet ya back in CLT. pic.twitter.com/E8N0SBC7pw
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