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2013 Federated Auto Parts 400

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2013 Federated Auto Parts 400
Race details[1]
Race 26 of 36 in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 program cover
2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 program cover
Date September 7, 2013 (2013-09-07)
Location Richmond International Raceway
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Course Permanent racing facility
0.75 mi (1.2 km)
Distance 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Weather Temperatures up to 81 °F (27 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)[2]
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 20.674 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Brad Keselowski Penske Racing
Laps 142
Winner
No. 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree

The 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on September 7, 2013, at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Contested over 400 laps, it was the twenty-sixth and final race leading into the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Carl Edwards of Roush Fenway Racing won the race, his second win of the season, while Kurt Busch finished second. Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, and Paul Menard rounded out the top five.

The race was the first for Harry Scott Jr. as a Sprint Cup Series team owner; Ryan Truex drove the #51 car in the team's debut.

The layout of Richmond International Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

The race was marred by a controversial finish, after evidence surfaced that two teams were found to have manipulated the outcome of the race and Chase positions in the final ten laps. NASCAR ultimately determined that Michael Waltrip Racing, Penske Racing, and Front Row Motorsports were involved in two separate, but intertwined, incidents, first by Clint Bowyer intentionally causing a caution with less than ten laps remaining in the race, and on the ensuing restart, having Brian Vickers pit after a restart from caution so that Martin Truex Jr. would clinch a Wildcard berth over Ryan Newman, and the second was collusion where Penske's Joey Logano earned the final guaranteed berth over Jeff Gordon after passing Front Row's David Gilliland. Both situations were intertwined together because of the tenth place and wild card situation. This scandal became widely known as Spingate.

Entry list

[edit]
Car Driver Make Sponsor Team
1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Cessna Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
2 Brad Keselowski Ford Miller Lite Penske Racing
5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet Farmers Insurance Hendrick Motorsports
7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing Tommy Baldwin Racing
9 Marcos Ambrose Ford DeWalt/Stanley Tools Richard Petty Motorsports
10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet GoDaddy Stewart-Haas Racing
11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Casey Mears Ford Geico Germain Racing
14 Mark Martin Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Stewart-Haas Racing
15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 5-Hour Energy Michael Waltrip Racing
16 Greg Biffle Ford Scotchgard/3M Roush Fenway Racing
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford Nationwide Insurance Roush Fenway Racing
18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's American Heritage Chocolate Joe Gibbs Racing
19 Mike Bliss Toyota Plinker Tactical Humphrey Smith Racing
20 Matt Kenseth Toyota Husky Tools Joe Gibbs Racing
22 Joey Logano Ford Shell Pennzoil Penske Racing
24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Drive to End Hunger/AARP Hendrick Motorsports
27 Paul Menard Chevrolet Menards/Pittsburgh Paints Richard Childress Racing
29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Budweiser Richard Childress Racing
30 David Stremme Toyota Swan Energy Swan Racing
31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar Richard Childress Racing
32 Ken Schrader Ford Federated Auto Parts FAS Lane Racing
33 Tony Raines Chevrolet Circle Sport Circle Sport
34 David Ragan Ford Farm Rich Front Row Motorsports
35 Josh Wise Ford The Pete Store Front Row Motorsports
36 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet United Mining Equipment/Pitt Lite Tommy Baldwin Racing
38 David Gilliland Ford Long John Silver's Front Row Motorsports
39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Quicken Loans Stewart-Haas Racing
40 Landon Cassill Chevrolet CRC Brakleen/Moon Shine Attitude Attire Circle Sport
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet Target Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
43 Aric Almirola Ford Gwaltney Richard Petty Motorsports
47 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Bush's Beans JTG Daugherty Racing
48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Hendrick Motorsports
51 Ryan Truex Chevrolet SeaWatch International/1-800-SEA-CLAMS HScott Motorsports
55 Brian Vickers Toyota LG/Aaron's Michael Waltrip Racing
56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts Michael Waltrip Racing
78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet Furniture Row/Beautyrest Furniture Row Racing
83 David Reutimann Toyota Burger King/Dr. Pepper BK Racing
87 Joe Nemechek Toyota AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Time Warner Cable/HendrickCars.com Hendrick Motorsports
93 Travis Kvapil Toyota Burger King/Dr. Pepper BK Racing
95 Reed Sorenson Ford Crusader Staffing Leavine Family Racing
98 Michael McDowell Ford Phil Parsons Racing Phil Parsons Racing
99 Carl Edwards Ford Kellogg's Frosted Flakes/Cheez-It Roush Fenway Racing

Results

[edit]

Qualifying

[edit]
Pos No. Driver Team Make Speed Time
1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 130.599 20.674
2 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 130.334 20.716
3 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 130.158 20.744
4 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 130.020 20.766
5 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 129.864 20.791
6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 129.851 20.793
7 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 129.689 20.819
8 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 129.633 20.828
9 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 129.366 20.871
10 48 Regan Smith Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 129.286 20.884
11 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 129.224 20.894
12 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 129.125 20.910
13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 129.119 20.911
14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 129.069 20.919
15 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 129.057 20.921
16 14 Mark Martin Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 129.026 20.926
17 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 128.995 20.931
18 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 128.946 20.939
19 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 128.817 20.960
20 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 128.743 20.972
21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 128.584 20.998
22 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 128.559 21.002
23 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 128.486 21.014
24 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 128.382 21.031
25 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 128.351 21.036
26 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 128.290 21.046
27 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 128.272 21.049
28 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 128.254 21.052
29 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 128.077 21.081
30 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 128.047 21.086
31 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 127.847 21.119
32 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 127.799 21.127
33 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 127.690 21.145
34 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 127.527 21.172
35 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 127.401 21.193
36 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 127.286 21.212
37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 127.250 21.218
38 51 Ryan Truex HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 127.095 21.244
39 95 Reed Sorenson Leavine Family Racing Ford 126.630 21.322
40 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 126.399 21.361
41 33 Tony Raines Circle Sport Chevrolet 126.139 21.405
42 32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 125.874 21.450
43 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 125.774 21.467
Failed to Qualify
44 19 Mike Bliss Humphrey Smith Racing Toyota 127.208 21.225
Source:[3]

1 Regan Smith drove the No. 48 car for practice and qualifying; Jimmie Johnson was on paternity leave.

Race

[edit]
Carl Edwards won the race.
Pos Grid No. Driver Team Make Laps Race Status Led Points
1 26 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 Running 46 47
2 2 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 73 43
3 24 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 4 42
4 7 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 6 41
5 22 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 3 40
6 5 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 Running 5 39
7 11 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 400 Running 0 37
8 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 Running 49 37
9 16 14 Mark Martin Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 0 35
10 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 Running 0 34
11 17 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 0 33
12 9 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 Running 0 32
13 14 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 Running 0 31
14 18 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 Running 0 30
15 34 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 400 Running 0 29
16 12 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 0 28
17 3 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 400 Running 142 29
18 19 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 Running 0 26
19 13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 Running 0 25
20 15 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 400 Running 0 24
21 6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 399 Running 0 23
22 8 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 399 Running 0 22
23 37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 399 Running 0 21
24 20 55 Brian Vickers Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 399 Running 0 0
25 4 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 398 Running 72 20
26 25 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 397 Running 0 18
27 32 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 397 Running 0 17
28 33 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 397 Running 0 16
29 23 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 397 Running 0 15
30 36 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 396 Running 0 14
31 40 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 396 Running 0 13
32 35 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 395 Running 0 12
33 41 33 Tony Raines Circle Sport Chevrolet 395 Running 0 0
34 28 40 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 395 Running 0 0
35 38 51 Ryan Truex HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 395 Running 0 0
36 43 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 393 Running 0 8
37 42 32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 393 Running 0 7
38 29 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 391 Running 0 6
39 31 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 388 Running 0 0
40 10 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 372 Running 0 4
41 27 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 142 Vibration 0 0
42 39 95 Reed Sorenson Leavine Family Racing Ford 126 Brakes 0 0
43 30 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 76 Brakes 0 1
Source:[4]

Final Chase for the Cup statistics

[edit]
Driver's points
(post-race) - Sunday, September 8 (post-penalties) - Friday, September 13
Pos Driver Points Wins Top 5 Top 10 Pos Driver Points Wins Top 5 Top 10
1 Matt Kenseth 2015 5 6 13 1 Matt Kenseth 2015 5 6 13
2 Jimmie Johnson 2012 4 9 15 2 Jimmie Johnson 2012 4 9 15
3 Kyle Busch 2012 4 11 15 3 Kyle Busch 2012 4 11 15
4 Kevin Harvick 2006 2 6 13 4 Kevin Harvick 2006 2 6 13
5 Carl Edwards 2006 2 8 13 5 Carl Edwards 2006 2 8 13
6 Joey Logano 2003 1 8 14 6 Joey Logano 2003 1 8 14
7 Greg Biffle 2003 1 3 10 7 Greg Biffle 2003 1 3 10
8 Clint Bowyer 2000 0 8 13 8 Clint Bowyer 2000 0 8 13
9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000 0 5 14 9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000 0 5 14
10 Kurt Busch 2000 0 8 13 10 Kurt Busch 2000 0 8 13
11 Kasey Kahne 2000 2 8 11 11 Kasey Kahne 2000 2 8 11
12 Martin Truex Jr. 2000 1 6 11 12 Ryan Newman 2000 1 6 12
13 13 Jeff Gordon 2000 0 5 12

(see below)

Race manipulation controversy

[edit]
Clint Bowyer was accused of intentionally spinning his car to help Martin Truex Jr. make the Chase.
Martin Truex Jr. was docked 50 driver points after the race, losing his Chase spot to Ryan Newman as a result. Jeff Gordon was later given a thirteenth spot in the Chase.

Team orders became an issue during the last ten laps of the race, and it was ultimately determined that three teams had tried to manipulate the finish of the race and Chase positions.

Under the Chase system at the time, 12 drivers were eligible to make the Chase: the top 10 in points, with two additional Wild Card spots for drivers positioned 11th-20th in the points with race wins. Entering the race, Kasey Kahne had already locked up the first Wild Card spot as he was the only repeat winner in the field outside of the top 10 in points, with his two race wins from earlier in the year (Bristol in March, and Pocono in August). Ryan Newman entered the race trailing Martin Truex Jr. for the final wild card. In order to guarantee a Chase position, Newman needed to either win the race, or be five points ahead of Truex and not have Joey Logano or Greg Biffle fall out of the top ten (as if either Logano or Biffle dropped out of the top ten at the end of the race, the other Wild Card spot would go to one of them). Jeff Gordon trailed Logano by 16 points for 10th place, the final Chase spot based on points position.

On Lap 393, Gordon was ahead of Logano by a large enough margin that Gordon led Logano by two points for the final guaranteed Chase position. Newman was the leader, and would have bumped out both Logano and Truex (one win each) had the race ended at that point. It was on that lap that Truex's teammate Clint Bowyer spun out in Turn 4. From the various angles captured of the spin, it initially appeared that Bowyer had either been tapped from behind by Dale Earnhardt Jr. or he had cut a right front tire. The field pitted under the resulting caution flag, including Bowyer, Truex's other teammate Brian Vickers, Newman and the rest of the field. A slow pit stop for Newman dropped him to third, behind Carl Edwards, Paul Menard, with Kurt Busch starting next to him in 4th.

As a result of pit stops, Truex gained multiple positions. Logano, who was two laps behind the leader (while Gordon was on the lead lap), used a wavearound to move up to one lap behind the leaders, where he could race other cars one lap behind in an attempt to gain more positions and score enough points to retake Gordon. Edwards went on to win, albeit with controversy as it appeared he jumped Paul Menard on the restart, with Kurt Busch and Newman finishing behind Edwards. However, Edwards was not penalized (as had happened to Jimmie Johnson at Dover in June) as NASCAR ruled that Menard had spun his tires and was slow getting up to speed.

Newman and Truex finished tied for the final wildcard spot on both wins, and the first tie-breaker, points. However, since Truex had an extra second-place finish at Texas, he entered the Chase. Logano, who overtook Gordon on the final restart, clinched the final non-wild card spot by one point over Gordon.

Immediately after the race, many in the garage suspected that Bowyer had spun out deliberately in an attempt to manipulate the finish of the race so that Truex would gain a Chase spot. The incident drew comparisons to the 2008 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race, where Nelson Piquet Jr. intentionally caused a caution to give an advantage to teammate Fernando Alonso, who would win the race. Coincidentally, Piquet was entered in the second-tier Nationwide Series race that weekend. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was directly behind Bowyer at the moment of the spin, and said afterwards that the way Bowyer's car spun was "one of the craziest things [he's] ever seen", and noticed the car being "jerked around" to make it lose control out of turn 4. While Bowyer claimed it was a flat tire that caused him to spin out, and indeed the right front was down after the spin, it was noted that the behavior of Bowyer's car was inconsistent with the normal behavior of a car that had cut a tire: the normal behavior for a car cutting a tire in the corners being for the car to wash up the track with no steering and slam the outside wall with its right side, then come back down onto the track, rather than spinning onto the apron. In addition, the popping noise normally associated with a flat tire only happened after the spin.

Further suspicion arose during the video replays, as the radio communications between Bowyer and crew chief Brian Pattie showed they were openly worried about the possibility of Newman winning and eliminating Truex from the Chase on lap 391, two laps before Bowyer spun. Another suspicious conversation was revealed between Vickers and his spotter, team general manager and vice president Ty Norris, where Norris ordered a completely oblivious Vickers to make a green-flag pit stop after the restart on lap 398 in order to give Truex another position to tie Newman in points. These conversations seemed to provide evidence of some kind of manipulation going on via team orders. In order for the scheme to work, Gordon, who was in 10th place, had to be overtaken by Logano in order to guarantee Truex a wild card. This scandal became known as Spingate from Bowyer's late-race spin, but also the Singapore Sling because the incident was similar to the 2008 Singapore Formula One incident to manipulate the outcome of the race.[5]

On Monday, September 9, NASCAR penalized Michael Waltrip Racing by fining the team $300,000—the highest fine imposed on a team in NASCAR's 67-year history. It also indefinitely suspended Norris, placed all three of MWR crew chiefs on probation until December 31, and docked Bowyer and Truex 50 driver points (While Vickers, a Nationwide Series regular, was not eligible for Sprint Cup driver points under the series declaration rule, he was also docked 50 points, which was reflected in a negative points total at year's end[6]). Each car was also docked 50 owner's points (Waltrip for the #55 and #56, Rob Kauffman for the #15; even if a driver is not a Cup-declared driver, the owner earns points). As this penalty was applied before the reset for the Chase, it effectively knocked Truex out of the Wildcard spot in favor of Newman. The 50-point penalty dropped Truex to 17th in points, removing him from eligibility for a wild-card position, and giving his spot to Newman. While NASCAR could not find any conclusive evidence that Bowyer had deliberately spun out, it did determine that Vickers' pit on Norris' orders was illegal. The point deduction did not affect Bowyer's post-seeding, as all penalties affected his pre-Chase points total and he had clinched a Chase berth two races earlier. Gordon, meanwhile, remained eliminated from the Chase because he did not have the necessary points to leapfrog Logano for a spot, which drew even more controversy, since Logano was able to overtake Gordon in the ensuing restart after the caution. Logano had to stay in the top ten in order to give Truex a wild card if Newman did not win. Had the caution not occurred, Gordon would likely have clinched a Chase position, since Logano would have remained two laps down.

Shortly after the penalties against Michael Waltrip Racing for trying to manipulate the race, rumors surfaced that Logano had received assistance from Front Row Motorsports driver David Gilliland. Penske and Front Row were considered technical partners, as they both used Ford cars and Roush Fenway Racing powertrains. Radio communications seemed to suggest to NASCAR that Front Row officials asked Gilliland to slow down and give up a position to Logano in order to help Logano race his way into the Chase, in exchange for an undisclosed form of compensation. Logano passed Gilliland on the final restart.[7]

After a second inquiry, NASCAR placed both Penske and Front Row on probation until December 31, and forced all teams to attend a Saturday afternoon meeting at the 2013 GEICO 400 in Chicagoland, regarding ethics in light of the two related match fixing incidents. Additionally, NASCAR CEO Brian France announced that Gordon would be added to the Chase field, expanding the field to 13 drivers. France explained in a press conference that his decision to add Gordon to the Chase was "based on the totality of events that were outside" Gordon's control, and how MWR's and Penske's manipulation attempts gave Gordon an "unfair disadvantage", and the fact that if Bowyer had not spun and the caution had not come out at any point between lap 393 and the white flag, Gordon would have qualified for the Chase on points based on his running position.[8]

Aftermath

[edit]

NAPA Auto Parts, Truex's primary sponsor on the #56 car, announced on September 19, 2013, that they would withdraw sponsorship of the #56 team at the end of the season as a direct result of the incident, choosing instead to align with Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the 2014 season. In 2014, NAPA would partner with Earnhardt's Nationwide Series team JR Motorsports and became the primary sponsor for up-and-coming driver Chase Elliott's 2014 championship and rookie of the year run in the Nationwide Series. They also sponsored Elliott for his part-time Sprint Cup debut in 2015, with a partial run set for his championship debut in 2016 after Elliott was moved to the No. 24 full-time following Jeff Gordon's retirement from racing, with Axalta moving over to sponsor Earnhardt from 2016 to 2017 and then Alex Bowman and William Byron, starting in 2018; Elliott would eventually win his first Cup Series title (with NAPA sponsorship) in 2020. With the loss of NAPA sponsorship, MWR had to scale the #56 team down to a part-time team for 2014, while Truex and everyone on his pit crew ended up being signed by Furniture Row Racing to replace a departing Kurt Busch. Truex would win the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship for Furniture Row.

Michael Waltrip Racing continued to run as a two-car operation for 2014 and 2015 but never again saw victory lane. Team principal Rob Kauffman announced he was purchasing a stake in Chip Ganassi Racing in 2015 and MWR folded at the end of the season; the team's charters (as a founding member of Race Team Alliance) were given to Stewart Haas Racing and fellow Toyota team Joe Gibbs Racing, allowing both to receive one extra car under the then-new charter system. Bowyer would take 5-Hour Energy to HScott Motorsports for 2016. In 2017, Bowyer moved to drive the 14 for Stewart Haas Racing in 2017, replacing retired team owner, Tony Stewart. 5-Hour Energy would move to Furniture Row to sponsor Erik Jones and Truex, before also withdrawing from the sport in 2018.

NASCAR would be rocked by another race manipulation scandal six years later, involving backmarker teams during that year's season finale, the 2019 Ford EcoBoost 400, involving bonuses for the best team without a Race Team Alliance charter (a system introduced in 2016) in that year's owner point standings.

The record fine, $300,000, was broken in 2023, when all four Hendrick Motorsports cars were discovered to have irregularities on the louvers during the pre-race inspection for the 2023 United Rentals Work United 500 (along with Justin Haley's, belonging to Kaulig Racing); Hendrick Motorsports were fined $400,000 for the irregularities ($100,000 per car).[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2013 Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  2. ^ "2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  3. ^ "Richmond Qualifying and Starting Lineup". ESPN. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 6, 2013. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  4. ^ "Unofficial Race Results for the 56Th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400" (PDF). Jayski. September 7, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 4, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  5. ^ Fryer, Jenna (September 16, 2013). "SpinGate: NASCAR Credibility Crisis Began After Clint Bowyer Spun Out At Richmond". HuffPost Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  6. ^ "NASCAR Standings: NASCAR Drivers, Race Standings And News". NASCAR.com. November 17, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  7. ^ Fox Sports. "NASCAR probing Gilliland-Logano teams' improper communications". FOX Sports.
  8. ^ "Gordon added to postseason picture". NASCAR.com. September 13, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  9. ^ Long, Dustin (March 15, 2023). "NASCAR issues severe penalties to Hendrick Motorsports". NBC Sports.


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