NASCAR may soon require drivers to curtail their celebratory burnouts to avoid excess damage to the winning vehicles before the post-race inspection process.

 

Steve O’Donnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer for the sanctioning body, told SiriusXM NASCAR on Tuesday that officials were examining incidents such as Denny Hamlin‘s post-race winning celebration following Sunday’s victory in the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International.

 

Hamlin’s lengthy post-race burnout along the frontstretch and subsequent spins left him unable to drive his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into Victory Lane.

 

“It’s something that’s been out there that we are trying to avoid yet balance the celebration,” O’Donnell said. “I think (we will see something) in the very near future, and this isn’t putting it all on the 11 car, this is something we’ve talked about, it’s a trend we don’t like to see.”

 

Last October, NASCAR officials said there was no plan to regulate such post-race celebrations, saying such instances gave drivers an “opportunity to express their enthusiasm for their win and give fans an exclamation point to the victory.”

 

While such incidents have raised concerns that teams were intentionally damaging their entries in an effort to keep officials from uncovering possible rules violations during post-race inspections, no recent inspections have uncovered any wrongdoing.

 

After Kevin Harvick‘s dominating victory in last fall’s Chase race at Dover, Del., the Stewart-Haas Racing driver appeared to make contact with the wall during his post-race celebration. However, the No. 4 Chevrolet passed inspection at the track as well as two days later when the car went through a more thorough inspection at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C.

 

Asked about Harvick’s burnout the following week, Hamlin noted that “what he did was really, really impressive.

 

“But obviously, as all the other competitors, whoever doesn’t win each week wants to make sure they’re on a level playing field with whoever did win,” Hamlin said.

 

Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion, said at the time that he had “definitely blown tires out.

 

“I think every driver has done something to do some kind of damage to their car,” Keselowski said.

 

O’Donnell said officials want to continue to allow winning drivers and teams, as well as the fans, to enjoy the accomplishment, but, he added, without creating unnecessary damage to the winning vehicle.

 

“We want to see a celebration and we think that drivers can celebrate without doing that,” he said. “You’ll probably see us sooner than later put something in place that covers us for that as you head into the last quarter of the season.

 

“Again, not there yet, we’re talking to a lot of the teams about it but I think everybody is on board with the direction we want to go in.”

 

According to the 2016 NASCAR rulebook for its Sprint Cup Series, winning vehicles are allowed to “engage in appropriate celebratory activity … prior to reporting to victory circle.”

 

Those activities include a victory lap, burnout(s) or donuts.

 

Once the drivers have taken the checkered flag (or the race is declared complete), all vehicles competing in a NASCAR-sanctioned race are “considered under impound” and “must not be altered or adjusted in any manner during the cool-down lap or on pit road prior to reporting to the inspection area(s).”

RELATED: Complete race results | Updated Chase Grid

Breaking down the full field for the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International:

1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Six weeks after making a mistake on the final turn at Sonoma that cost him his first road-course victory, Hamlin triumphs at Watkins Glen. This time, he capitalized on the mistakes of others and led the final 10 laps for his second victory of the season. Grade: A+

2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Despite a pit-road speeding penalty on Lap 34 and right-front damage, Logano worked his way back through the field for his fourth consecutive top 10 at Watkins Glen. Grade: A

3. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski and Kyle Busch restarted in the front row with 10 laps to go, but both overshot Turn 1 opening the door for Denny Hamlin. That wasn’t Keselowski’s final mistake. Running third entering the final turn, he turned second-place Martin Truex Jr. when a crossover move went awry. Grade: B

4. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Sunday was a day of extreme highs and lows for Allmendinger. A pit-road speeding penalty on Lap 26 cost him terrific track position. Then he just missed getting collected in the big wreck on Lap 54. But instead of being elated for tying a personal best with his second top five of the season, he was disconsolate after punting Kyle Larson just before the finish line. “I turned him,” said Allmendinger, searching for words. “Not on purpose. … I’m not very happy with myself on that. I don’t want to do that, especially for fourth place at the end. … I just cost Kyle a good finish. I’m just pissed off at myself.” More on Larson’s 29th-place finish later. Grade: B

5. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart posted his eighth top-five finish in his 16th and final start at Watkins Glen. It also was his fifth top five in his past seven starts. Stewart is smokin’. Grade: A

6. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch was in prime position to vie for his third victory at Watkins Glen when he restarted from the front row with 10 laps to go. Instead, he overshot the first turn along with race leader Brad Keselowski, handing an opportunity to Hamlin. Grade: A-

7. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Toyota, Furniture Row Racing. Truex was running second coming to the final turn when he was turned by Brad Keselowski. The two talked after the race. “He said it was his fault,” Truex said. “I said, ‘I knew that.’ Simple as that.” Pretty much sums up Truex’s sixth top 10 in 11 starts at Watkins Glen. Grade: A

8. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Big, big day for McMurray, whose finish — his first top 10 at the Glen since 2010 — was ahead of all his competition on the Chase bubble. Grade: A

9. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne was another bubble winner. He climbed a spot in the Chase standings to 17th, but more important, he picked up 20 points on 16th-place Kyle Larson and now trails Larson by eight points with four races to go before the Chase field is set. Grade: A

10. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. How’s this for tidy? Making his 600th start, Kenseth posted his 300th top 10. Grade: A

11. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch had a solid finish, but it was no match for his Olympic Team USA-inspired shoes. Grade: US-B

12. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears weaved his way through the carnage of the big wreck on Lap 54 to tie his best finish of the season (12th last month at Daytona). Grade: A

13. Chase Elliott, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Elliott stemmed his recent string of bad finishes with his best finish since coming in second at Michigan two months ago. Grade: B

14. Jeff Gordon, No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon overcame heavy damage to the nose of the No. 88 on Lap 4 and later just missed getting collected by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s spinning car in the big wreck on Lap 54 to post his second top 15 in three starts since coming out of retirement to sub for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Grade: B

15. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards started from the pole and led the first 25 laps but was hit with a penalty on his first pit stop for a wayward tire. Being deep in the field with a fast car is not where you want to be on a road course, and Edwards paid for it when he was collected in a wreck with 34 laps to go. Grade: B-

16. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman was running 20th on the restart after the sixth caution when the No. 31 got loose and spun out. Attrition helped Newman record his sixth top-16 finish in his past seven starts at Watkins Glen. Grade: B-

17. Michael McDowell, No. 95 Chevrolet, Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing. McDowell recorded his best finish in eight starts at Watkins Glen and his third-best finish this season. Grade: A

18. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Bowyer suffered front-end damage in a wreck with 34 laps to go but still posted one of his better finishes of the season. Grade: B

19. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. Blaney remained in the thick of the Chase race despite a pit-road speeding penalty on Lap 22 and running off the track into the grass 20 laps later. Grade: C

20. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne simply was not competitive, and a penalty because the No. 5 crew was over the wall too soon on the first caution didn’t help. But the numbers don’t lie: Kahne spent a grand total of three laps in the top 15. Still, Kahne is only 10 points behind Kyle Larson for 16th in the Chase standings. Grade: C-

21. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick led a career-high 11 laps (previous best was seven at Talladega in October 2014), but she was running in her normal midpack position when she was caught up in Paul Menard‘s dirt storm on Lap 84 and sustained heavy damage. Grade: B-

22. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Speaking of Menard … the No. 27 team was penalized for throwing its fuel can on Lap 49, but the team’s biggest faux pas came when its driver ran off the course on Lap 84 and spewed dirt onto the track, forcing enough cars behind him to drive blindly and lose grip to cause a seven-car wreck, bringing out the eighth caution and second red flag of the day. Grade: D

23. Landon Cassill, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Despite spinning out in the grass in the bus stop and bringing out the fifth caution for the debris he left on the track, Cassill tied his best finish at Watkins Glen. Grade: C

24. Boris Said, No. 32 Ford, Go Fas Racing. It wouldn’t be Watkins Glen without Boris Said in the field. Making his 16th start at The Glen, Said posted his 10th top-25 finish. Grade: C

25. Brian Scott, No. 44 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Scott’s first Sprint Cup start at Watkins Glen produced a better finish than the first Glen starts of Kyle Busch (33rd), Jeff Gordon (31st), Kurt Busch (29th) and Martin Truex Jr. (28th). That’s something to hang your helmet on. Grade: B

26. Josh Wise, No. 30 Chevrolet, The Motorsports Group. Wise got his best finish in three starts at Watkins Glen. He finished 38th in the previous two (2012, 2014). Grade: B

27. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. A pit-road penalty on the No. 43 team for being over the wall too soon on the first pit stop and the wreck on Paul Menard‘s dirt spray contributed to Almirola’s worst finish at Watkins Glen since 2013. Grade: C-

28. Cole Whitt, No. 98 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Witt could not improve on his 21st-place finish last year at Watkins Glen despite starting 22nd. Grade: C

29. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson was easily the biggest loser Sunday. He had a fourth-place finish in the bag until he was punted by AJ Allmendinger short of the finish line. Instead his car hit the wall and was destroyed. The 24-point difference between fifth and 29th has huge Chase implications. As it stands, Larson is 16th in the Chase standings but by a mere eight points over Trevor Bayne. And as far as moving up, Larson is 30 points behind Jamie McMurray instead of five. (Larson would have finished ahead of McMurray, dropping him to ninth Sunday.) As for the apologetic Allmendinger, he “has got a few coming,” Larson said. Grade: A

30. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. A big mistake (pit-road penalty for tossing a fuel can) and bad luck (getting caught up in Paul Menard‘s dirt storm) were tempered because the driver he’s competing with for 30th in the points standings, David Ragan, also was collected in the Lap 84 wreck. At one point Sunday, Buescher was 13 points behind Ragan. Because of the wreck, he finished the day three back with four races remaining to get into the top 30 and qualify for the Chase. Grade: C

31. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon was involved in two wrecks (Lap 4 and Lap 54), with the latter bringing out the first red flag and being a difference maker for the No. 3 team. When Dillon returned to the track, all the sheet metal from the front of the car was gone, but with a spot in the Chase on the line, every point matters. He dropped two spots to 14th in the Chase standings but caught a big break when Kyle Larson was wrecked. Dillon leads 16th-place Larson by 39 points. Grade: C-

32. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick was running third with 30 laps to go when he went to pit road because of a flat-spotted tire. He came out 33rd, the last car on the lead lap. The extra pit stop made him vulnerable to midpack mishaps, and that’s exactly what happened when his car was destroyed in the wake of the Paul Menard dirt storm. Grade: C

33. David Ragan, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Ragan was collected in two wrecks, with the final melee delivering a knockout blow. Ragan’s welfare is of great importance to drivers on the Chase bubble. If Chris Buescher, with one win, replaces Ragan in 30th in the standings, the winless driver 16th in the Chase standings will need a win to qualify for the postseason. Grade: C

34. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. Sunday wasn’t one of DiBenedetto’s better days. He sustained a pit-road penalty, went for a spin on the Lap 81 restart and then absorbed his sixth DNF of the season because of a crash when he was caught up in the Lap 84 mess. On the other hand, he spent the fourth-most laps running in the top 15 of the drivers who finished 21st through 40th. Grade: D

35. Regan Smith, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Car woes limited Smith to 77 laps. Grade: D

36. Alex Kennedy, No. 55 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Kennedy was caught up in the wreck that caused the fourth caution, and he brought out the sixth caution when his engine blew 20 laps later. Grade: F

37. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett was running at the finish, but brake issues limited him to 77 laps. Grade: F

38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse was driving aggressively after the restart following the second caution and touched off the big crash on Lap 53 when he lost control of his car coming out of the carrousel heading into Turn 6. The No. 17 hit the inside wall straight on and then took another big hit when Jimmie Johnson T-boned the car when it ricocheted back onto the track. Grade: F

39. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Biffle’s day ended in the big crash on Lap 53. He said he thought he had cleared Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car but was hit from behind by Austin Dillon. Wrong place, wrong time. Grade: D

40. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson paid dearly for an early pit-road speeding penalty that put him in the back of the field when he was collected in the big wreck on Lap 53. It was Johnson’s fourth DNF for a crash in the past nine races. Grade: F

RELATED: Results | Standings 

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y — Tony Stewart took a few moments for himself before climbing out of his No. 14 Haas Automation Chevy on Watkins Glen’s long pit road after Sunday’s race.

And when the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion finally emerged and settled back against his car, he looked like the cat that ate the canary. Smile and all.

Surviving the last few hairy laps of the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen was an accomplishment of its own as drivers all around him spun or crashed out in the final frenzied chase to the checkers.

But this veteran is the all-time best on the picturesque Watkins Glen, New York, road course with five career victories. And Stewart certainly drove that way Sunday adding a fifth-place finish to his impressive run toward a championship in his final NASCAR season.

Why did he look so satisfied Sunday?

“Cause we’re not one of the guys that got tore up in the last red there,” Stewart said smiling and speaking about the twice red-flagged race eventually won by Denny Hamlin.

“The spotter was telling me pairs of guys that were mad at each other. I was like, for once, I’m not mad at anybody with six laps to go. So that was a nice position to be in.

“When you get 10 to go like that, you get restarts, it’s going to be pretty hectic and guys are going to be running into each other and pushing each other out of the way.

“I’m pretty happy to come out of it with a top-five.”

Since missing the first eight races of the year recovering from injuries in an off-season all-terrain vehicle accident, Stewart has slowly but very surely returned to fighting form.

He earned a post-season berth with a dramatic win at the series’ other road course in Sonoma, California, last month. He’s scored four top-five finishes in the last five races and his five total top-five finishes are more than seven of the drivers currently ranked among the standings’ top 16.

Half of his 14 starts have resulted in top-10 showings. And although Stewart is 26th in the points standings, he’s only 86 points behind 20th-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with eight fewer starts.

His victory last month and being ranked among the top-30 in points virtually punches his ticket into the Chase which begins next month at Chicago.

The way he drove, survived and overcame this weekend – along with an ever-growing appreciation of new crew chief Mike Bugarewicz — is exactly what has Stewart hopeful about his chances come Chase time.

“Got a top-five out of it, didn’t we?” a smiling Stewart said Sunday. “That tells the story right there. There’s guys who had top fives going into the last corner and couldn’t finish it. We’ll take what we got.

“We just keep being consistent, even on days we don’t have a top-10 or top-five car, we’re finding ways to make top-fives out of it. That’s what you’ve got to do in the Chase. You’ve got to be able to make something out of nothing, and these guys are doing a great job out of that.”

RELATED: Watch the live stream here | Watkins Glen results

From 8-11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, NASCAR.com will live stream the post-race inspection process at the Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

The three-hour look takes you behind the scenes as NASCAR officials inspect Sprint Cup Series vehicles following Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The cars at the R&D Center this week are: the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin (winner of Sunday’s race) and the No. 22 Ford of Joey Logano (finished second in Sunday’s race). 

For more on what the inspection process entails, click here.