NASCAR levies harsh penalties against Matt Kenseth, JGR; 1 connecting rod was 3 grams light

NASCAR stripped virtually everything from Matt Kenseth at Kansas Speedway except his victory Sunday after his No. 20 Toyota engine failed postrace inspection.

On Wednesday, Kenseth was docked 50 points, stripped of his pole position award (which won't count toward making him eligible for next year's Sprint Unlimited preseason exhibition) and his first-place finish in the STP 400 won't count for bonus points toward the Chase for the Sprint Cup if the Joe Gibbs Racing driver makes the 10-race title playoff.

NASCAR also suspended crew chief Jason Ratcliff for six races and fined him $200,000 and placed him on probation through Dec. 31. Joe Gibbs also was docked 50 points as a car owner and had his owner's license for the No. 20 suspended for the next six races. Toyota also lost five points in the manufacturer standings.

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A NASCAR release said Kenseth's No. 20 Camry, which led a race-high 163 of 267 laps from the pole, was found to have a connecting rod that didn't meet the minimum weight.

Joe Gibbs Racing's engines are supplied by Toyota Racing Development's shop in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Lee White, president of Toyota Racing Development, said in a statement, in part: ''.. one of our engine connecting rods weighed in approximately three grams under the legal minimum weight of 525 grams. None of the other seven connecting rods were found to be under the minimum weight. We take full responsibility for this issue ... JGR is not involved in the process of selecting parts or assembling the Cup Series engines. It was a simple oversight on TRD's part. .. ."

JGR released a statement that said in part: "It is our understanding that one of the eight connecting rods on the engine was ruled too light. We are working with our partners at TRD on this issue. In the meantime we will plan to appeal the penalty."

Gibbs can still attend the races while his license is suspended, but he is not eligible to receive car owner points.

Kenseth, in his first season with JGR after 13 with Roush Fenway Racing, also won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. JGR has four wins in eight Cup races. Kyle Busch has the other two wins.

Engines, along with tires and fuel, are regarded as sacrosanct by NASCAR inspections, and teams typically are punished harshly if there is the discovery of tampering or illegal specifications. In May 2009, Carl Long was found with an engine 0.17 cubic inches too large while practicing for a Sprint All-Star Race warmup even at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was penalized 200 points and suspended for 12 races, and his crew chief was fined $200,000.

In the past, NASCAR has let race winners keep their victories despite major penalties. Kenseth's penalty was similar to was Carl Edwards keeping his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2008 despite a missing oil tank cover. Edwards lost 100 points and was stripped of the bonus points for the win that count toward the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Crew chief Bob Osborne was suspended for six races.

Kenseth's penalty is the second time in three weeks that a powerhouse team has suffered NASCAR's wrath. The Penske Racing teams of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were hit with 25-point penalty and six-race suspensions for their crew chiefs, car chiefs, race engineers and team manager after NASCAR ruled their Fords failed prerace inspection because of illegal rear suspension parts April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The suspensions are being delayed while Penske appeals the punishment. An appeals hearing was scheduled for May 1.