The penalties incurred by Jimmie Johnson’s team for failing inspections prior to Daytona have been almost completely revoked after the final round of appeals on Tuesday afternoon. Both the 25 point deduction and the 6-race suspension for crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec have been lifted. The only penalty that remains is a $100,000 fine for Knaus.
The decision came after Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook overturned last week’s ruling from the National Stock Car Racing Commission to unanimously uphold the punishment for illegally modified C-posts.
With this decision, Jimmie Johnson gets 25 points back, shooting from 17th to 11th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings. He is now just one point away from being in the top ten heading into Sunday’s Auto Club 400 in California.
“I’m just glad this is over,” tweeted Johnson. “Now it’s on to Cali.”
Thankfully for him, he is heading to Fontana with his crew chief by his side and 25 more points to his name.