NASCAR officials disqualified Ryan Preece and Joey Logano from the Cup Series race at Talladega. In the post-race inspection, the cars of the two drivers, who finished in the top 5, were found to have infringed on NASCAR’s rules concerning rear spoilers.
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Motorsports consultant and NASCAR media member Bozi Tatarevic broke down the penalties in a video on his YouTube channel, providing full details for fans. Logano’s No. 22 Ford Mustang was disqualified for a violation of Rule No. 14.5.8.E. This rule covers the technicalities involving spoiler braces.
NASCAR had mandated this rule recently and has started enforcing it strictly. Why? Because changing the angle of the spoiler can lead to various advantages that include higher speed and more mileage.
The spoilers must be painted black, and they must consist of the parts outlined in a table that lists the spoiler, a deck lid, and an L-shaped brace with reinforcement on the sides. These reinforcements must hold the brace at a right angle to the deck lid. Violation of any one of these stipulations would have led to the car’s disqualification.
There is a bolt that holds the brace to the spoiler and another that holds it to the deck lid. Tatarevic speculated that one of these bolts might have been missing in the post-race inspection.
It is also possible that the physical load that a car undergoes when racing at these tracks could cause a part to go missing. For instance, a bird flew onto Josh Berry’s windshield on Sunday.
Though race incidents could be cited as grounds for appealing the penalty, Team Penske declared that it wouldn’t appeal.
“One of the 18 bolts on the surface of the spoiler that connect to the base was found to be loose, and NASCAR penalized the team as a result. This was not intentional and happened throughout the course of the race event. Team Penske accepts the disqualification,” the team stated via a press release.
How Preece’s No. 60 Ford Mustang broke the rules
Ryan Preece’s car was disqualified for violation of Rule No. 14.5.8.F. The rule states that the spoiler may be shimmed, meaning thin pieces of material are added between the polycarbonate face and the base.
If shims are used, gaps will not be permitted between the spoiler face and the spoiler base. The spoiler face must be flush to the base, either at the top or the bottom, depending on the required change in angle.
For superspeedway events, a maximum of two full-width single-piece graduated carbon fibre shims will be the only permitted method of altering spoiler angle. There are CAD files that further specify how these changes can be made without breaking the rule book.
The No. 60 Mustang had three shims instead of the permitted two, leading to its disqualification.
The crew altered the positioning of the spoiler relative to the deck lid and base. Even if the spoiler was made slightly flatter on the right side, this could have influenced more air flow over it. This would reduce drag and save fuel.
There isn’t a benefit to this when leading a line. But it benefits a lot when racing in a pack, especially in NASCAR’s Cup Series.
Given the technical nature of the violation, it will be a challenging case for RFK Racing to appeal, especially since there is an additional physical part involved. RFK Racing hasn’t yet revealed whether it will appeal or not.
