In a shocking turn of events, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has been handed substantial penalties by NASCAR after the sanctioning body discovered a modified spoiler on Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 Toyota during time trials for the Daytona 500.
Briscoe, who had secured the pole position for the season-opening race, has been docked 100 driver points and 10 playoff points. Additionally, JGR has been fined $100,000, and crew chief James Small has been suspended for four races. As a result of the penalties, Briscoe now finds himself with negative 67 points in the standings, plummeting from 10th to 39th place.
The spoiler base, a single-source part that is not permitted to be modified, was found to be in violation of NASCAR’s regulations during the inspection process. JGR has stated that it will appeal the penalties, explaining that “the issue in question was caused in the assembly process when bolts used to attach the spoiler base to the deck lid caused the pre-drilled holes to wear due to supplied part interferences.”
This incident marks the second consecutive year that the Daytona 500 pole-winner has faced penalties, with Joey Logano being penalized in 2024 for an illegal glove during his qualifying run.
The severity of the penalties dealt to Briscoe and JGR has significantly impacted the team’s start to the 2025 season. Briscoe will need to wait until the third race of the season, at Circuit of the Americas, to have a chance of moving into positive points.
In related news, two other teams were also penalized for safety violations. The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team of Todd Gilliland and the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing team of Cody Ware were found to have added ballast to their cars. As a result, both drivers were docked 10 driver points, and their teams lost 10 owner points.
