NASCAR apologizes after mistakenly penalizing Jimmie Johnson at Texas playoff race

FORT WORTH, Texas — Tony Stewart has spent two decades in NASCAR and still doesn’t grasp some of the series’ rules, a topic that became an issue when seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson was mistakenly penalized moments before Sunday’s AAA Texas 500.

“You have to make it simpler,” said Stewart after one of his drivers, Kevin Harvick, won the race to clinch a spot in the Championship 4. “Half the time, you don’t know what the penalties are supposed to be and I’m a car owner. I don’t know how fans are supposed to keep up with it either.”

Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet failed inspection twice, but passed a third time. (Cars aren’t penalized track position when a car passes before three attempts, although they can be docked  practice time at the next race.)

NASCAR  Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell said “there was a communication breakdown” between inspection officials and racing control.

“There was an assumption there was a third failure,” O’Donnell said outside the NASCAR hauler following Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway. “There wasn’t. There were only two. In that case, the 48 should not have started in the back.

“It’s disappointing. It’s not something you can fix during the race, unfortunately. All we can do is own up to it and fix it.”

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Johnson hung in line during the warmup laps where he qualified (23rd) as his crew chief, Chad Knaus, attempted to get officials to recognize the error. Johnson, however, eventually went to the back of the pack.

“It put us in a bad situation,” Knaus said. “I’m really proud of the guys on the 48 team. We came back strong. We had another penalty later, a spun on the racetrack and still finished reasonably well.”

Johnson finished 15th and remains without a win this season with two races left. He’s won in each season as a full-time driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series — a run that goes back to 2002 — but hasn't taken the checkered flag since June 4, 2017 at Dover International Speedway.

“There was a breakdown of communication on how teams can communicate to the tower to dispute something, and it was really exposed today,” said Johnson, who has more Cup victories at Texas (7) than any driver in NASCAR history.

Knaus advocated a new way for teams to communicate with NASCAR officials.

“We assured them we are looking into any all things to fix this,” O’Donnell said.

Twenty-three of the race’s 40 drivers were penalized either before or during Sunday’s race, not counting engine or transmission changes. Johnson’s pre-race penalty isn’t on that list, although he later had to serve a pass-through penalty when one of his crew members came over the wall too soon.

Half the playoff drivers in the Round of 8 were penalized before or during the race: Kyle Busch (speeding on pit road), Aric Almirola (unapproved body modification), Martin Truex Jr. (rolling through three or more pits stalls before his own) and Clint Bowyer (crew member sitting on the wall).

Bowyer finished the worst among the drivers seeking a spot in the Championship 4 as he placed 26th, two laps down. His spokesman told USA TODAY Sports after the race Bowyer was not answering questions. 

“That’s the rule,” O’Donnell said of Bowyer’s penalty. “I know people don’t necessarily like all those rules, but that’s the rule. If you don’t make that call, you’d be asking why we didn’t.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports' A.J. Perez on Twitter @byajperez.