Kenseth upset over penalties

RICHMOND, Va. - Mild-mannered Matt Kenseth is spitting mad at NASCAR.

The driver for Joe Gibbs Racing spoke out Thursday, one day after his team was slapped with some of the harshest penalties in NASCAR history because his race-winning car at Kansas last week failed post-race inspection.

The failure came because one of eight connecting rods in the engine was too light - by 2.7 grams, according to Kenseth, who said the rods collectively weighed more than necessary by about 2.5 grams each.

“I think the penalties are grossly unfair,” Kenseth said. “I think it’s borderline shameful.”

Kenseth was docked 50 driver points in the standings, two more than he earned for the victory. He said he’s more upset about the penalties given to car owner Joe Gibbs and his crew chief, Jason Ratcliff.

Gibbs also was docked 50 points and suspended for six weeks during which he will earn no owner points, essentially taking the No. 20 car Kenseth drives out of contention for winning an owner’s title.

Ratcliff was suspended for six weeks and fined $200,000.

The team is appealing the penalties.

Kenseth understands that a rule is a rule, but the part found to be too light was installed by Toyota Racing Development, which builds engines for JGR at a shop in Costa Mesa, Calif., Kenseth said.

“They show up on a truck or an airplane, get taken out and bolted in the car,” he said.

TDR President Lee White said Wednesday night the company took full responsibility for the mistake and confirmed that JGR had nothing to do with it. He also said the lighter part gave Kenseth no competitive advantage.

Sports, Pages 20 on 04/26/2013

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