Denny Hamlin's DQ at Pocono and a 'taped' apology. What's a hundredth of an inch among friends?

Under the heading of unscientific research, there’s this: Stack five sheets of notebook paper together, and you’re looking at big trouble.

That’s roughly the thickness of the pieces of tape NASCAR inspectors found on the cars of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch following their 1-2 finish Sunday at Pocono — well, you know, give or take a thousandth of an inch.

Both cars were disqualified, and it was the first time in 62 years NASCAR had DQ’d a race winner.

POCONO-NO: Hamlin wins, then loses after inspection; Chase Elliott says thanks

NASCAR WEIRDNESS: A monkey in the cockpit? Cigarette lighters? Johnny Reb? Yep, NASCAR once allowed all that

The two cars, both products of Joe Gibbs Racing, reportedly had pieces of tape placed in front of both front wheel openings — the tape, we’re told, was about a hundredth of an inch thick. Doesn’t sound like much, but in the world of high-speed aerodynamics, every fraction of a fraction helps.

Know what else is a hundredth of an inch thick? A light filament, but I digress.

The DQs moved everyone else up two spots in Pocono’s finishing order, which made third-place finisher Chase Elliott the winner. The Gibbs team had until noon Monday to officially appeal the penalty, but didn’t do so.

Wally Brown, Gibbs Racing’s director of competition, offered this statement Monday:

“In our review of the post-race infractions on the 11 and 18 cars at Pocono, it was discovered  that a single piece of clear tape was positioned over each of the lower corners of the front fascia ahead of the left-front and right-front wheel openings on both those cars.

“The added pieces were 2 inches wide and 5½ inches long with a thickness of 0.012 inches and installed under the wrap. This change in our build process was not properly vetted within our organization and we recognize it is against NASCAR’s rules.

“We apologize to everyone for this mistake, and we have made changes to our processes to ensure that it does not happen again.”

You might have some questions, and we might have some answers.

Why wasn’t the tape found during pre-race inspection?

Because it was hidden under the car’s wrap (NASCAR cars aren’t painted anymore, they’re “wrapped”). Post-race, the winning car is stripped of its wrap for a thorough look-see.

What is the post-race inspection process in NASCAR?

NASCAR gives the head-to-toe treatment to the top two cars at each race. Positions 3-5 get a look-over, but not as exhaustive.

Why would the Gibbs team take this chance for such a tiny bit of aero advantage?

If we’re to assume they did it for nefarious reasons, we must also then assume they did it because they didn’t think they’d get caught (they did use clear tape, you know). Or maybe thought they wouldn’t finish first or second.

Does Chase Elliott now get the trophy?

The guess here is, Denny will probably get it to him. Eventually. For now, he’s having fun with it. And as for Chase, in a Monday teleconference he suggested he doesn’t care to have it, since in his mind he finished third.

It’s been 62 years?

Yep, it was a 1960 100-miler in Wilson, N.C., where racing’s “Golden Greek,” Emanuel Zervakis was first to the checkers but later disqualified for an oversized gas tank.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR explains Denny Hamlin's Pocono disqualification