Speeding In The Pits: 2011 Year In Review: Denny Hamlin's Penalties

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Denny Hamlin's Penalties

Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR

After narrowly losing the 2010 Sprint Cup to Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin looked poised as the favorite to unseat the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion from his throne. Unfortunately, 2011 proved to be a nightmare season for Hamlin and his FedEx Toyota team as the 11 car did not run anything like it did in 2010.

The start of the year ended up being a reflection as to how Hamlin's season would go. While he scored finishes of seventh, second and sixth in the first 10 events in 2011, he also had finishes of 21st, 33rd, 39th and 23rd. Things seemed to pick up for the Joe Gibbs Racing team in the early goings of the summer as Hamlin won the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan. Unfortunately, that would be Hamlin's only win of the year. The victory proved important though as it helped Hamlin secure a spot in the 2011 Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup. The final 10 races went on as the majority of the season did with one top five and four top 10s offset by finishes of 31st, 29th, 18th, 16th and 20th.

Of the three Joe Gibbs Racing teams, Hamlin's seemed to be plagued the worst with engine problems. Three times in 2011, Hamlin was forced to start at the rear due to having to change an engine before the race. Despite the rough year, Hamlin only had one penalty for speeding in the pits while his FedEx pit crew went through the year unscathed without a single penalty.

2011 Statistics For Denny Hamlin
9th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400)
5 top 5s
14 top 10s
450 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Denny Hamlin
Race 3 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
Race 4 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 11 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end
Race 18 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
Race 20 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

Penalty Color Key

Pink - Pre-race Penalty
Orange - Penalty For Pitting Before Pit Road Is Open/Too many crew member(s) in contact with pit service area
Red - Driver Induced Penalty
Green - Pit Crew Induced Penalty
White - Verbal Abuse Toward Official/Safety Violation

Red, green and white designated penalties are considered to be "serious" penalties as they have a more significant affect on the outcome of a driver and team's finish than pink and orange designated penalties.

Please note that NASCAR does not have different designations for penalties. The color designation is for the purpose of this website only.

NASCAR's Race Penalty Procedures

* Driver change before start of the race
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Use of a backup car after qualifications
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Engine and/or transmission change after qualifications
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Adjustments made to car after impound
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Miss driver's meeting/driver introductions

PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Impeding a competitor during qualifying
PENALTY: Qualifying lap disallowed

* Pitting before Pit Road is open
PENALTY: Restart at the tail of the field

* Too many crew member(s) in contact with pit service area
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Pitting out of order
PENALTY: Restart at the tail of the field

* Car must enter pit road in single file
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Speeding - Entering/Exiting pits
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* All passing on pit road must be to the outside on entry
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Driving through more than 3 pit boxes
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Car pitting out of the assigned pit box
PENALTY: 1 lap

* Crew member interfering with another team's pit stop
PENALTY: NASCAR Discresion

* Running the stop & go sign/light
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Going above the blend line exiting the pits
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Passing the caution car/truck
PENALTY: 1 lap

* Pulling up to pit (drivers must maintain position in relation to field or face penalty)
PENALTY 1 lap

* Jumping the start/restart
PENALTY: Pass through pits

* Passing after turn three (3) on "One to Go''
PENALTY: Pass through pits

* Passing on a start or restart (before start/finish line)
PENALTY: Pass through pits

* Disobeying NASCAR request
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Intentionally causing a caution
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Disobeying Black Flag
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Commitment Line Violation
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Passing under the double yellow line (at Daytona or Talladega)
PENALTY: Must pass through pits

* Blocking a driver under the yellow line (at Daytona or Talladega)
PENALTY: Must pass through pits

* Disqualification of qualifying time
PENALTY: Start at tail of the field

* Use of extension poles are limited/not self illuminated
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Crew member(s) over the wall too soon
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Crew member(s) returning from equipment side of wall
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Front air wrench must be carried back to pit wall side of car
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Using more than two (2) air wrenches during one pit stop
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Non-Compliant refueling
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Tossing or throwing the fuel filler/equipment
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Tire violation-Removing outside tire acceptable/Rolling a tire(s) beyond the center of pit road
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Unapproved adjustment to car
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Removing equipment from assigned pit area
PENALTY: Stop and Go

* Running over/under equipment
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Hand pushing car more than 3 pit boxes
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Refueling car before the affected car receives the green flag on the race track or does not complete the designated race distance (competition yellow)
PENALTY: Minimum 1 lap

* Verbal abuse to a NASCAR official
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Safety violation
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion