On Wednesday, Jeremy Clements Racing released a statement, which explained that the organization has filed a notice of appeal with NASCAR following an L2-level penalty issued by the sanctioning body on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the issue that NASCAR discovered with the No. 51 car’s intake manifold actually did not create a competitive advantage.
The statement from JCR reads:
“In response to the penalty NASCAR announced yesterday, we have filed a notice of appeal.
“During NASCAR’s tear down process of our Daytona engine, our intake manifold was found to be too short from the carburetor face to the bottom of the plenum. This deviation restricts power to the motor, eliminating any positive impact to the motor’s performance.
“We are appreciative of NASCAR’s thorough inspection process and look forward to the opportunity to have our voice heard. We appreciate the continued support of our fans and partners as we allow the process to play out.”
— Jeremy Clements (@JClements51) August 31, 2022
Whether the issue discovered by NASCAR was an advantage for JCR or not will now be up to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel to decide based on the arguments given by Jeremy Clements Racing and NASCAR.
Jeremy Clements was the feel good story in NASCAR late Friday night, early Saturday morning, when he scored an unexpected win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway, locking himself into the Playoffs in the process.
However, following teardown of his motor early in the week, NASCAR discovered violations within the intake manifold and on Tuesday, the sanctioning body assessed the driver and team with an L2 Penalty, which stripped the Playoff benefits from their victory at Daytona.
The current penalties in place from the L2-level infraction are:
- 75 driver points deducted for Clements, 75 owner points deducted for Jeremy Clements Racing as well as 10 Playoff Points deducted for Clements and JCR.
- $60,000 fine to crew chief Mark Setzer.
- Daytona win does not count toward Playoff eligibility.
If Clements and the No. 51 team can get the decision overturned in the appeal, they could find themselves back in the Playoffs.
