Chase Briscoe speaks out about historic NASCAR penalty for counterfeit part

After receiving one of the strictest punishments NASCAR can hand down to a team, Chase Briscoe spoke about his own reaction to the penalty. NASCAR penalized the No. 14 car after the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for counterfeiting a Next Gen part. The penalty was an L3-level penalty — the most severe level of punishment under the current NASCAR deterrence system.

Briscoe spoke about the penalty and shared his reaction to the unfortunate situation, indicating that he was aware the punishment could have been worse than it was. Briscoe further explained that he was unaware of the part that was counterfeited and that he learned about the punishment while in the simulator practicing.

Chase Briscoe reacts to harsh penalty

“Surprised I guess,” said Briscoe when asked about his emotions initially. “I mean, it was frustrating. But at the same time, it is what it is. We can’t change it. Obviously the penalty was justified. So I don’t think that I can sit here and be mad about it or anything like that, it is what it is. I just gotta go on and try to make the most out of this season.

“The penalty could have been a lot worse. They could have totally taken our playoff eligibility and everything away. So we still have 11 weeks to try and win a race so that’s what we’re going to do.”

The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team was awarded the penalty — a loss of 120 driver and owner points, as well as 25 NASCAR playoff points. The penalty hits Briscoe especially hard as he was the first driver out of the playoffs in the standings ahead of the punishment. The points deducted pushed him from 17th in the current standings to 31st place.

Now, the only way for Briscoe to qualify for the playoff chase is to win a race over the next 11 weeks. Additionally, it’s a six-race suspension plus a $250,000 fine for crew chief Johnny Klausmeier.

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said the NACA duct to the engine panel was counterfeit in Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford. The NACA duct is a single-source part designed to help cool the car, per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports.

“In the post-race inspection at the R&D Center, we found the No. 14 car had an engine panel NACA duct not in compliance with the rule book,” Sawyer told NASCAR.com. “It is a counterfeit part, and that is an L3 penalty. … We need to make sure we’re keeping the teams and the car in compliance. The deterrence model has to fit that, and that’s our responsibility as custodians of the sport and of the garage.

“Don’t mess with a single-source part. Working in areas we used to in the Gen-6 car, is just not going to be acceptable with this car as we move forward. It’s not going to be the culture we’re going to allow.”