NASCAR officially handed out an expected two-race suspension to two pit crew members on the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Cup Series team on Tuesday afternoon. The two-race suspensions were set to kick off this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but Joe Gibbs Racing chose to defer the penalties by a week on Wednesday.
As a result, Denny Hamlin will be without front tire changer Austin Maloney and jack man Joel Bouganon for next weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway and the following weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
The two crew members were given the penalties due to a detached right front wheel on Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE on Lap 384 of last Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride
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Hamlin was assessed a two-lap penalty mid-race due to the detached wheel, and as a result, he would end the evening 31st, five laps down.
Results: Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol
The choice to defer the penalties makes a lot of sense as Hamlin performs much better at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, historically, than he has at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. By holding the suspensions off a week, it gives Hamlin and the No. 11 team a chance to take a win at full strength this weekend at New Hampshire. A win would advance them into the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
If they fail to win this weekend, there’s still a benefit to moving the suspensions by a week.
Hamlin would theoretically stand to lose more points by losing his primary pit crew members at a track like New Hampshire, where he excels, rather than a road course, where he has typically struggled, like the Charlotte Roval.
Hamlin enters the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs as the No. 1 seed, but even at the No. 1 seed, he sits just 26 points above the Playoff cutline. Far from a comfortable margin. Every point could matter in the Round of 12, and for a 59-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner like Hamlin, who is still seeking his first career NASCAR Cup Series title, you never know how many more chances the driver will have to hoist the Bill France Cup.
