DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide Series crew chiefs and other team members have been suspended indefinitely Wednesday by NASCAR for their roles in rules violations discovered during a post-race test Aug. 16 at Michigan Int’l Speedway.
Jason Ratliff, crew chief of the No. 18, and Dave Rogers, crew chief of the No. 20, have been fined $50,000 each and suspended indefinitely. Also, No. 18 car chief Dorian Thorsen, engine tuner Michael Johnson and crew member Toby Bigelow have been placed on indefinite suspension as have No. 20 car chief Richard Bray and engine tuner Dan Bajek.
NASCAR inspectors were conducting a post-race chassis dynamometer test when they discovered magnet spacers attached under the gas pedals of both the No. 18 and No. 20 Toyotas, which were put there “with the intent of compromising the chassis dynamometer test.”
Joe Gibbs Racing is not expected to appeal the penalties, given a statement from team owner Joe Gibbs after the infractions were discovered.
“We will take full responsibility and accept any penalties NASCAR levies against us,” Gibbs said in a statement. “We will also investigate internally how this incident took place and who was involved and make whatever decisions are necessary to ensure that this kind of situation never happens again.
“The expectations we set for everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing begins with me, and I personally apologize to NASCAR, our partners and our fans for the negative light this situation has cast upon all of us.”
In addition to the fines and suspensions to the crews, drivers Joey Logano (No. 18) and Tony Stewart (No. 20) have been docked 150 championship points each. Gibbs, as car owner, has been docked 150 owner points.
Gibbs released a second statement following the announcement of the penalties by NASCAR, which again apologized and took responsibility for the infractions:
“First, we want to apologize to NASCAR, all of our partners, all of our families at JGR, and all of our fans for the unfortunate incident that took place this past weekend in Michigan with our two Nationwide teams. A poor decision was made by some key members of our organization, and 100 percent of the blame rests with us.
“In 17 years we have never had any representative of Joe Gibbs Racing knowingly act outside of NASCAR’s rules, and that is something we consider essential to how we operate on a daily basis.  What we have determined is that these individuals involved used extremely poor judgment in attempting to alter the results of NASCAR’s dyno test following Saturday’s Nationwide Series race in Michigan.  Although in no way was anything done that might have altered the race outcome, these JGR employees attempted to circumvent the NASCAR rule book and that is unacceptable.
“We take full responsibility and accept the penalties NASCAR has levied against us today.  We had come to the conclusion that we would add to any NASCAR imposed penalties with the minimum being suspension for the remainder of the season for those involved, including our two Nationwide Series crew chiefs.  There will also be an additional monetary fine beyond the amount announced by NASCAR earlier today, which will be the responsibility of those involved.
“We are, however, disappointed that NASCAR chose to place our drivers on probation, as they had no knowledge or involvement of this incident.
“On behalf of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, we apologize again for this most unfortunate situation.”