NASCAR penalties against Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick overturned

In a stunning victory for five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR penalties that were levied against Johnson and his team at Daytona last month were overturned Tuesday.

Prior to the Daytona 500, NASCAR found that a body part on Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was in violation of the rules.

The sanctioning body docked Johnson 25 championship points and suspended his crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec for six races. All remained with the team while Hendrick appealed.

The National Stock Car Racing Appeals panel last week upheld the penalties. But after hearing Hendrick’s final appeal -- the team had argued that the car had passed inspection at prior races -- John Middlebrook, the sport’s chief appellate officer, took the rare step Tuesday of lifting Johnson’s points penalty and the Knaus and Malec suspensions.

He did leave intact a $100,000 penalty against Knaus.

The part at issue was the so-called C-post that connects the roof to the rear quarter panel of the car and, if tampered with beyond NASCAR rules, could provide an aerodynamic advantage.

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NASCAR penalties against Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick overturned