Harvick’s title berth spoiled by inspectors

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Kevin Harvick’s bid for a second NASCAR title suffered a massive setback Wednesday when he was stripped of his berth in the championship race because his winning car failed inspection after Texas Motor Speedway.

The discovery of an illegally modified spoiler, made during a detailed post-race inspection after the No. 4 Ford returned to NASCAR’s Research and Development Center following Sunday’s race, negates the automatic berth Harvick earned into the final four. The rule violated states that spoilers must be used exactly as supplied from the manufacturer and not altered.

On top of losing his spot in next weekend’s finale at HomesteadMiami Speedway, Harvick must also close out the final two races of the season without crew chief Rodney Childers and car chief Robert Smith. Both were suspended for two races, and Childers also was fined $75,000.

Harvick was docked 40 driver points, and Stewart-Haas Racing was docked 40 owner points as well. Harvick enters this weekend’s race at Phoenix fourth among the remaining eight playoff drivers, three points above the cutline. Should there be a tie for the final transfer spot, Harvick would not be eligible to use the Texas victory in the tiebreaking procedure.

Greg Zipadelli, vice president of competition at SHR, said the team will not appeal the penalties. Tony Gibson will be Harvick’s interim crew chief and Nick DeFazio will be interim car chief.