Drivers and Fans React To SHR Counterfeit Part

What’s Happening?

Following the race at World Wide Technology Raceway (or, simply, Gateway), the No. 14 car driven by Chase Briscoe and fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing was slapped hard with an L-3 penalty. L-3 penalties can range anywhere between a 120-point to a 180-point reduction as well as a 25-50 playoff point fine. This penalty has been the first of its kind as per the NASCAR Rulebook.

SHR claimed that it was a “quality control oversight” which allowed their No. 14 car to being caught with this counterfeit part. After NASCAR showed the media the counterfeit 3-D printed part, drivers and fans alike weren’t sheepish about commenting on the incident.

• During his Actions Detrimental Podcast for Dirty Mo Media, Denny Hamlin explained how it was possible for the 3-D printed part to wind up in the SHR body shop. The clearest explanation which seems to back up SHR’s claim was that it was simply an error in quality control. Hamlin then explained that NASCAR teams also build show cars as well as pitstop practice cars and rather than building an actual NextGen chassis that would never race, the teams themselves would manufacture cheaper “counterfeit” parts for those practice cars. That could be one explanation as to how this fake part ended up on a very real NextGen car at Gateway.
• Kyle Busch seemed to be a little harsher in his comments. The described the oversight as “idiotic” after seeing the two parts compared as the textures between the two were completely different. He would go on to say in a comment reported by Jeff Gluck that even if they didn’t have access to the real part at their shop, they could have easily called another team and purchased the appropriate part before slapping on one of their counterfeit parts. However, he would go on to say that NASCAR could take 15 cars from the lineup after every race, break them down, and find something wrong with a minimum of 14 of them. It’s a conflict of old school NASCAR culture of “creativity” vs. the new law of the land and the NextGen car.
• While some fans are applauding NASCAR’s recent transparency in showing us, point blank, the issues with the counterfeit part, other fans have been more critical, pondering what the difference even was if the fake part provided no competitive advantage.

The most telling tidbit of the interview provided below by Jeff Gluck is that NASCAR views this as a culture issue in NASCAR and they want to change that. Long dead are the days of innovation and creativity. When NASCAR said this was going to be a hands-off car, they meant it.

The Main Characters

NASCAR is making good on their promise to be more transparent and present to the media as well as the fans what was wrong with any and all confiscated parts. Here, Jeff Gluck tweets that the markings just don’t match up, also providing a side-by-side close up comparison.

Around The Garage

Jeff Gluck Tweeted Kyle Busch’s comments after he saw the counterfeit part.

Denny Hamlin, in his most recent episode of Actions Detrimental, spoke in depth about the L-3 penalty, speculating if it really was a team oversight.

In The Stands

DaSam24 applauds NASCAR’s attempt to be transparent with its penalties and confiscations. Yes, bravo, NASCAR!

Andrew Grega asks if they ever presented what was wrong with the Hendrick louvers earlier in the season. No, they didn’t, Andrew. But it was that very appeal hearing which led to NASCAR promising to me more transparent going forward. So…there’s that.

Todd Casterlin claims it all to be little more than a big fat joke. What exactly he is referring to, we’ll never know..?

Chief Running Bear brings into question that the part did not help the handling nor the performance of the car during the race. Chase Briscoe did run in the back for most of the race, as per his usual, sadly. So this begs the question as to why does it matter? I don’t man, that’s above my paygrade. But Tee Riddle, jasonintexas, and Johnny echoed similar concerns.

What do you think NASCAR fans and Daily Downforce readers? Do you also applaud NASCAR’s transparency or do you still smell a rat in the room? Let us know on all of our socials and keep it right here for more outstanding NASCAR content.