NASCAR found the No. 20 violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-5.5.3 (E) (Only magnetic steel connecting rods with a minimum weight of 525.0 grams will be permitted; connecting rod failed to meet the minimum connecting rod weight) of the 2013 NASCAR rule book.

As a result, crew chief Jason Ratcliff has been fined $200,000 and suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events, including the Sprint All-Star Race. He has also been placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Car owner Joe Gibbs has been penalized with the loss of 50 championship car owner points; the first-place finish from the Kansas will not earn bonus points toward the accumulated aggregate car owner points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a car owner Wild Card position. Gibbs’ license for the No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car suspended for the next six championship points events, which means the car will not receive owner points during that period.

Driver Matt Kenseth was also penalized with the loss of 50 championship driver points; the Coors Light Pole award from Kansas will not be allowed for eligibility into the 2014 Sprint Unlimited; the first place finish from Kansas will not earn bonus points toward the accumulated aggregate driver points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a driver Wild Card position.

NASCAR has also penalized the manufacturer with the loss of five manufacturer championship points.

Following the penalty, JGR issued a statement:

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is aware of the penalty issued by NASCAR today regarding the engine in our No. 20 car used in last week’s Sprint Cup Series race in Kansas. It is our understanding that one of the eight connecting rods on the engine was ruled too light. We are working with our partners at TRD on this issue. In the meantime we will plan to appeal the penalty.

Toyota Racing Development issued a statement:

During NASCAR’s routine post-race tear down of Matt Kenseth’s race-winning car and engine from Kansas Speedway, one of our engine connecting rods weighed in approximately three grams under the legal minimum weight of 525 grams. None of the other seven connecting rods were found to be under the minimum weight. We take full responsibility for this issue with the engine used by the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) team this past Sunday in Kansas — JGR is not involved in the process of selecting parts or assembling the Cup Series engines. It was a simple oversight on TRD’s part and there was no intent to deceive, or to gain any type of competitive advantage. … The goal of TRD has always been — and will continue to be — to build high-performance engines that are reliable, durable and powerful, and within the guidelines established by NASCAR.

Update: Matt Kenseth spoke with the media regarding the penalty. He said:

I think the penalties are grossly unfair. I think it’s borderline shameful. There’s no argument the part was wrong. They weighed it and it was wrong. However, there is an argument that there certainly was no performance advantage. If you can find any unbiased, reputable, knowledgeable engine-builder and if they saw the facts, what all the rods weighed. The average weight of all the rods was well above the minimum — 2.5 (grams) above the minimum at least. There was one in there that was way heavy. There was no performance advantage, there was no intent, it was a mistake. JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) had no control over it.

Update 2: Joe Gibbs Racing appealed the penalties. After hearing testimony, the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel amended the original penalties assessed by NASCAR. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s suspension was reduced to one Sprint Cup Series championship event. He will be on probation for the next three championship events following his reinstatement.

Joe Gibbs and Matt Kenseth had their points penalties reduced to 12 from 50. All other components of their penalties were rescinded.

Toyota had their manufacturer’s points penalty increased from the loss of five points to the loss of seven.

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The engine of the No. 20 contained a connecting rod that did not meet NASCAR’s weight minimum. Toyota Racing Development provides engines for JGR.

It is standard procedure to take the race-winning engine to the R&D center for a thorough inspection.

NASCAR is currently mulling penalties for the No. 20 team.

JGR President JD Gibbs said that the team working on a deal that would keep them with Toyota “for a long time to come.”

Dodge is looking for a team to anchor its program after Penske Racing, the only major team that currently fields Dodges in the Sprint Cup Series, decided to switch to Ford next season.

JGR’s contract with Toyota is up at the end of the season, making them a target for Dodge. Dodge has also approached Richard Petty Motorsports, as it searches for a program to replace Penske.

In related news, Toyota plans to unveil its 2013 Sprint Cup Camry on May 22nd at Toyota Racing Development in North Carolina.

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There are still hurdles that JGR and TRD must overcome, including fitting a TRD engine into a chassis built by JGR for a JGR engine.

Hamlin and Mike Ford, Hamlin’s crew chief, specifically requested the engine because they are currently fighting for a Chase spot, and have had several recent engine problems.

Hamlin said:

We felt like we were on pace to have an engine failure every four weeks or so. We just knew we were going to have another one before the Chase started if the odds worked out, and another couple in the Chase. We asked TRD to help us out and they were more than happy to help us out.

JGR and MWR will use the engines produced in the new partnership beginning in 2012. The engines will be built in California, at TRD’s shop, and then sent to North Carolina for tuning. The partnership will produce engines for the Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series.

Given JGR’s recent engine struggles, the team could switch to TRD engines as soon as this season.

JGR has struggled at times with the durability of their engines this season. They have had 11 engine failures so far this season, including practices and races. Third-year driver Joey Logano has been impacted the most by engine problems. Last month at Daytona International Speedway, the No. 20 team had to replace an engine in the first few minutes of practice forcing Logano to jump in teammate Denny Hamlins No. 11.  Most recently Logano had to start at the rear of the field for the Brickyard 400 because of an engine change after qualifying.

JGR builds their engines, unlike the other Toyota teams, who receive their engines from TRD.

The combination of JGR and TRD engines allows TRD to avoid laying off employees, if RBR leaves the sport. TRD will lead longer term projects, such as development of the new fuel injection engine.

JGR President J.D. Gibbs said in a conference call that TRD had already helped in several areas but acknowledged there were areas where the team is struggling. He said:

We’re kind of a the point now where I think we can combine a lot of the best attributes that JGR has, the best attributes TRD has, and really have a better package going forward.

This move should help JGR moving forward. It will take some of the pressure off many of the guys working in the engine shop for JGR, and it will allow JGR racing to make their race cars the best they possibly can. Not only will the move help JGR racing overall, but I believe that it will help strengthen the relationship between all of the Toyota teams because they will be working with the same equipment.

Rumors are also circulating that JGR will expand to four teams, adding Carl Edwards next season.

FoxSports.com recently quoted Lee White, president of TRD, as saying:

No, they’re not shutting down their engine shop and no we will not be building their engines. Of course, hell can freeze over and pigs can fly, but not in this world.

At this point, this is an unconfirmed rumor and should be taken as such.

Update: Joe Gibbs Racing president JD Gibbs said that the team does not plan to close its engine shop. Gibbs, speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody, said:

I think a lot of that started when Red Bull Racing announced they were going to cease operation. A lot of people started trying to plug things into different spots. There are some things that TRD and Toyota do really well, and there are some things that we do really well. For several years, we’ve been working on how to bring all those strengths together. [JGR Head Engine Builder] Mark Cronquist has got some real sharp guys and the question again is how do we bring all that together? If we can do that, I think there will be some real value. But there is no shutting down our shop, or shutting down theirs. We’re going to keep working on combining what they do well with what we do well.

He also said about the rumor of Carl Edwards joining JGR:

We get the most attention because we have an open spot. If other [teams] had spots, they’d all be in the rumor mill, too. The reality is that Carl is a gifted, talented driver. But you have to have all the parts; driver, crew chief, team and sponsorship. And that sponsorship piece is difficult to put together. From our standpoint, we are far from having any concrete decisions or directions. We have the availability to add a fourth car. We look at it each year and examine the possibilities. But we haven’t been able to make it work.

He also said that Joey Logano’s job is secure, even if they do add a fourth team.

White said:

I have a huge respect for Jay Frye. He’s a great guy and has a lot of experience in the sport. He’s well-connected. I’m very interested to see what he ends up with as far as investors and partners, and certainly we’ll have time for him moving forward if he wants to continue the relationship, and we’ll also have a lot of time for him even if that doesn’t happen and it involves someone else.

Wallace and Gaughan are both in the top 10 in Nationwide Series starts, but neither has won a race this season.

Separately, Rusty Wallace has agreed to represent the Toyota brand nationally.

Wallace said:

I’m very proud to have the opportunity for the team and I to represent the Toyota brand. Our team’s decision on manufacturers involved input from a lot of people within the organization. We decided that at the end of the day, our goal as a race team is simple: To win races and championships. Thus, we all had to take a long look at which manufacturer partner could best help us reach that goal.

Lee White, of TRD, said:

We are looking forward to our partnership and working together with Rusty Wallace Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. As a former Cup Series champion who is now a team owner, Rusty knows what is required – in terms of equipment and people – to win races and compete for championships. The team is a first-class organization, and we are proud that they will be a part of the Toyota Camry roster.

According to the Journal, over the past decade, Joe Gibbs Racing has spent about $1 million per year on perfecting its motor oil. Roughly 10 extra horsepower have been squeezed from JGR engines, and that gain has been attributed to the motor oil.

Motor oil is one of the few places where teams can use technological innovations without restraint in NASCAR. As a result, teams keep their motor oil formulas secret. JGR won’t even tell which company produces their motor oil.

The Journal details the process in which the oil is sent to JGR and tested, and sent back to scientists for analysis.

If you’re questioning why a team would spend that much on motor oil, you needn’t look further back than this season for an answer.

At the Shelby 427, five Toyota teams had to replace engines, including JGR’s No. 18 team with Kyle Busch. Four of the five teams used Toyota engines built by Toyota Racing Development. JGR builds its own engines.

JGR stated that the problem with Busch’s engine was not the same as the problem with the TRD engines. 

At the time, TRD President Lee White said:

It’s a wear issue between the camshaft and lifter – it’s either a coating, lubrication, lack of lubrication, too much lubrication, not enough coating or a material situation or just the simple fact that we haven’t been testing.

TRD changed oil pumps in hopes of correcting the problem. They used an aggressive camshaft that uses a lighter weight oil.

Lubrication issues can cost a team a good start or finish, and it can lead to a blown motor and wrecked race car. At roughly $150,000 a pop, protecting race cars is priority number 2 behind protecting drivers.

In the last two weeks, TRD had to replace six engines due to lifter or camshaft issues. Lee White, TRD president, believes the issue has to do with oil pressure when the cars are in low-RPM situations.

It is also believed that the better tire at LVMS increased lap speeds by three-quarters of a second, which may have led to more strain on the engines.

TRD has switched to a more aggressive camshaft that uses a lighter weight oil.