BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition for NASCAR, was chatting amicably with some folks Sunday when J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, sauntered up.

Gibbs wore the look of a man whose children just got caught doing something really awful in school.

“

The intention was to manipulate the numbers that we get when we get our information and data off the dyno.

”

ROBIN PEMBERTON

"OK, I gotta go," said Pemberton, suddenly assuming the role of principal as he took Gibbs by the arm and led him into the NASCAR officials' trailer behind them.

There was good reason for the consternation on Gibbs' face. Two Nationwide Series race teams fielded by JGR face serious penalties after NASCAR officials discovered blatant attempts to alter post-race chassis dynamometer tests.

The infractions were discovered by Nationwide Series inspectors following Saturday's Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway, according to Pemberton. The cars involved were the No. 18 Toyota that was driven to a seventh-place finish by Joey Logano, and the No. 20 Toyota that was driven to a third-place finish by Tony Stewart.

"In our post-race inspection, our inspectors discovered some shims that were placed on the gas-pedal stop. They were magnets that were about a quarter-inch thick that prevented the accelerator from going 100 percent wide open," Pemberton said.

Gibbs said he is still putting together information about why the shims were put in place and exactly who authorized it. But he was not pleased about it, either.

"It was a really, really poor decision by some of our key guys at JGR. I want to apologize to NASCAR, to our partners, to Toyota guys. A couple of guys chose to make a decision there that really impacts all of us," Gibbs said.

It is not unusual for NASCAR to test cars on the chassis dynamometer, which measures rear-wheel horsepower. Officials have administered this test several times during the season, and the No. 18 and No. 20 were only two of several that were tested following the Carfax 250.

The JGR teams in question have dominated the series for much of the season, combining to win 14 of 25 races. The infractions come shortly after NASCAR announced rule changes for the Toyota engines used in the Nationwide Series last month. The guidelines were intended to cut 15 horsepower and level a playing field that fellow competitors had insisted was lopsided for much of the season because they believed the Toyota engines were producing more horsepower than other manufacturers. (Continued)