The three-member NASCAR appeals panel has reversed the 100-point penalties handed out to Hendrick Motorsports drivers and removed the 10 playoff points reduction. The panel’s decision means that Alex Bowman moves to the top of the NASCAR Cup Series standings, William Byron moves to third, and Kyle Larson moves to ninth. Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 9 team also moves from 37th to 20th in the owner standings. However, the panel upheld the four-race suspensions to the crew chiefs and $100,000 in fines for modifying the car’s louvers that direct air over the hoods.
NASCAR had confiscated the louvers from all four Hendrick Motorsports cars after practice on March 10 at Phoenix Raceway and issued the penalties on March 15. The appeals panel was composed of former driver Bill Lester, truck/trailer retailer Kelly Housby, and former racing marketing executive Dixon Johnston.
Hendrick Motorsports’ team owner, Rick Hendrick, said in a statement that he was pleased with the panel’s decision to overturn the points penalty, as it validated the team’s concerns regarding unclear communication and other issues they raised. However, NASCAR expressed disappointment that the entirety of the penalty was not upheld. NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer had said at the time the penalties were issued that the louvers were modified in an area that was not approved.
Hendrick vice president Chad Knaus indicated that the team felt it could make modifications to the louvers, as they ensured that the parts fit the hood and did everything they needed to do. Knaus and team president Jeff Andrews argued that the penalty should not be as severe as the ones issued last year for part modifications because Hendrick never raced the parts. Nonetheless, NASCAR takes any modification of a single-supplier part seriously, as the whole point of having one supplier is to ensure teams have equal parts and pieces.
The rulebook lists that Level 2 violations “may be subject” to penalty options of 75-120 points, 10-25 playoff points, suspensions of crew members from 4-6 races, and a fine of $100,000-$250,000. It states that “Infractions resulting in Level 2 Penalties may be found Pre-Race, In-Race, and Post-Race.” The $400,000 fine issued to Hendrick was the largest fine in NASCAR history when combined with the penalties of all four cars. HMS could have asked for its crew chief suspensions to be deferred pending appeal, but they opted to have them sit out the last two weeks so that they would only miss two more races.
NASCAR has two more appeals to hear next week — Kaulig Racing for its louver penalty from Phoenix on April 5 and Denny Hamlin’s appeal to his penalty for intentionally wrecking Ross Chastain at Phoenix on April 6. NASCAR chooses the appeals board from a list of NASCAR-appointed panelists and only announces who sits on the panel when it announces the decision.
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