Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 car owned by Joe Gibbs, has lost 75 points in the Sprint Cup championship standings after officials discovered several violations, specifically some improperly installed parts, during post-race inspection after Sunday's Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis. Also, Hamlin's crew chief Darian Grubb and car chief Wesley Sherrill have been fined $125,000 and suspended for the last six races before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, from Pocono this coming Sunday to Richmond on September 7. Since the violations were discovered after the race, the penalties for Hamlin were increased by 25 points and $75,000. It is a P5 penalty, the second-highest in NASCAR's rulebook, making it a huge blow to the #11 team.
Hamlin finished third in Sunday's race, in between teammates Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. He is now down to 22nd in the regular point standings, and 9th in the 16-driver Chase grid, which will officially debut at Chicagoland in September, the first race of the Chase. Hamlin won at Talladega in May, and is one of 11 Cup Series winners so far in 2014. Thanks to that, he is still almost certain to compete for the championship this year. But he will have to try to secure his Chase spot with some substitute crew members due to the penalties that have been handed out to him and his team.
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