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A "total screw-up" by an outside vendor could cost Matt Kenseth a shot at a second NASCAR title.

Toyota Racing Development took full blame and Joe Gibbs Racing vowed to appeal Wednesday after NASCAR announced the punishment -- among the most severe in its history -- for a nonconforming engine part found on the car Kenseth drove to victory Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Kenseth was stripped of everything but the win, although even that will be of limited value. It will not be counted toward bonus points for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship shootout, should he qualify, or a wild-card berth in the Chase for the Sprint, should Kenseth not finish among the top 10 in the standings.

Other penalties include:

-- The loss of 50 driver and owner points -- two more than Kenseth collected for the victory Sunday. That dropped him from eighth in the standings to a tie for 14th.

-- A suspension of six points races and one non-points races and a $200,000 fine for crew chief Jason Ratcliff.

-- And the suspension of the owner license of Joe Gibbs for six weeks. That means Kenseth's No. 20 entry will not be eligible for the owners' points that determine such things as race lineups in the case of rained-out qualifying.

After post-race inspection, the winner's engine is among the pieces taken to the NASCAR Research and Development Center for more intensive scrutiny. During that teardown Tuesday, one of the eight connecting rods in Kenseth's engine was found to weigh less than the minimum 525 grams.

Lee White, president of TRD, said the piece -- produced by a European provider he did not name -- was 2.7 grams light while the other seven fell within limits.

"That's .04 of one percent," White said in a SiriusXM Satellite Radio interview. "And (it) had zero impact on performance. The connecting rod on the very same pin for the opposing cylinder was 529 grams. So it was four grams overweight, so if you average the two it still comes out above legal. But obviously that's not how NASCAR does it.

"I'm sure they weighed it 10 times to make sure and then I'm sure they weighed every other rod in the engine and, lo and behold, the other seven are all overweight. It is a total screw-up. And, frankly, we're not going on a witch hunt. I'm taking full responsibility. This is on me."

Each piece has so many measurements that TRD couldn't possibly check every one, White said.

The appeal will delay the implementation of Ratcliff's suspension until it is resolved.

Although he had no control over the part that failed inspection, NASCAR has always held the crew chief responsible for the entire car from the time it gets to the racetrack until it clears final inspection. "NASCAR, I respect their stance on it, and they've got to have a go-to guy," Ratcliff said, later on SiriusXM. "So as a crew chief, you accept that responsibility.

"The reality of it is no, you can't put your fingers ... these cars are so complex, the detail that goes into them each and every week, there's no way one individual could put his finger on every part."

The most severe penalty in NASCAR also stemmed from an engine violation, Carl Long's oversized engine at the 2009 All-Star Race. Long was docked 200 points under the previous system -- comparable to Kenseth's 50 -- and fined $200,000 and suspended for 12 races. The suspension was later reduced to eight races, but Long has not returned to Sprint Cup.

Kenseth won two of the first eight races and was in contention to win two others before falling out due to an engine failure (Daytona) and a crash (Bristol).

"The way I view it right now and the race team views it, fortunately we've been running really well," Ratcliff said later on SiriusXM. "Fifty points is something that if in fact that's what it is then that's something that I feel strongly we can overcome.

"We're very driven in what we do and we're very competitive and we hate to see anything stand in the way of that, but at the same time they're a strong group of guys. . . .

"And Matt, you know Matt. He's awesome. He looks at it for what it is and says, 'Hey, we'll get through it.' "

Kenseth, a Cambridge native and the 2003 season champion, was one of two Wisconsin drivers hit hard by NASCAR on Wednesday.

Camping World Truck Series driver Johnny Sauter, from Necedah, was found to have improper modifications to the fuel cell in his Toyota in opening inspection at Kansas. NASCAR's announcement referenced the safety foam within the cell. ThorSport team manager David Pepper wouldn't elaborate.

Crew chief Joe Shear Jr. was suspended for four races and fined $10,000. Sauter was docked 25 points and fell from first to third in the standings. The team also was docked 25 owners' points.

Pepper said there would be no immediate decision on an interim crew chief. Truck teams next race May 17.

"The truck will go to Charlotte in three weeks, and I have no doubt we will be equally prepared to perform as well as we have and hopefully be in a position to contend for a victory," Pepper said.

Sauter won the first two races of the season, Daytona and Martinsville, and has not finished worse than fifth in the series' four races.

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