Hendrick Motorsports officials say they are “pleased” with an appeals board decision to overturn part of the penalties issued to its four teams earlier this month.
NASCAR penalized Hendrick’s Nos. 5, 9, 24 and 48 NASCAR Cup Series teams for using “unapproved parts modifications” during the race weekend at Phoenix earlier this month. Specifically, NASCAR cited illegal modification of the hood louvers.
Hendrick appealed the decision to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel, which ruled Wednesday to uphold fines of $100,000 issued to all four race teams. It also voted to maintain the four-race suspensions of all four crew chiefs involved.
However, the appeals board decided to restore 100 owners points and 10 playoff points for drivers Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman (Josh Berry, driver of the No. 9 car at Phoenix, is filling in for the injured Chase Elliott and is not competing for the series championship).
The restoration of points is a big win for the Hendrick organization, where just a handful of points can decide who makes the playoffs.
“We are grateful to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel for their time and attention,” team owner Rick Hendrick said (via NASCAR.com). “Today’s outcome reflects the facts, and we’re pleased the panel did the right thing by overturning the points penalty. It validated our concerns regarding unclear communication and other issues we raised. We look forward to focusing on the rest of our season, beginning with this weekend’s race at Richmond.”
Hendrick Motorsports VP Chad Knaus pointed out recently that the hood louvers are a vendor-supplied part overseen by NASCAR, saying the penalties were, “a terrible situation, not only for us, but the industry to be quite honest with you,”
NASCAR issued a statement expressing disappointment at the appeal board’s decision on overturning the points penalties.
“We are pleased that the National Motorsports Appeals Panel agreed that Hendrick Motorsports violated the rule book,” NASCAR said. “However, we are disappointed that the entirety of the penalty was not upheld. A points penalty is a strong deterrent that is necessary to govern the garage following rule book violations, and we believe that it was an important part of the penalty in this case and moving forward.
Official Statement from NASCAR regarding the Hendrick Motorsports appeal: pic.twitter.com/uWo4QpLsy7
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 29, 2023
