NASCAR DQ’s Pocono Winner Denny Hamlin, Runner-Up Kyle Busch

Things got interesting at Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified following the event after their Toyotas failed inspections. The kicker? The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates came in first and second place in the event.

That paved the way for Chase Elliott to be named the official winner of NASCAR’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 — who was disqualified from a race in 2021 for loose lug nuts. Roush Fenway Racing drivers Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher finished the race 14th and 29th respectively.

“There was some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle. The part was the front fascia,” NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran explained Sunday, per NASCAR. “And there really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere that it shouldn’t have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ.”

NASCAR says it believes the last time it disqualified an apparent winner was April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis’ victory at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank.

Here is an updated look at the standings following Sunday’s controversial finish.

1. Chase Elliott
2. Ross Chastain
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Kyle Larson
6. Kyle Busch
7. Joey Logano
8. Christopher Bell
9. Kevin Harvick
10. William Byron
11. Alex Bowman
12. Aric Almirola
13. Austin Cindric
14. Kurt Busch
15. Daniel Suarez
16. Tyler Reddick
——————–
17. Chase Briscoe
18. Erik Jones
19. Denny Hamlin
20. Austin Dillon

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