Front Row Motorsports has decided to file an appeal with NASCAR over their decision to penalize driver Michael McDowell and the No. 34 team over infractions that were discovered after Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway.
McDowell got hit with a 100 driver-point penalty, crew chief Blake Harris was fined $100,000 and suspended four races, and the No. 34 team was penalized 100 owner points as well after it was reportedly discovered that they had an improperly modified part on McDowell’s car.
The discovery was made after the race when the car arrived at NASCAR’s R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina. The 2021 Daytona 500 winner had finished sixth on Sunday.
“Front Row Motorsports continues to assess the penalties levied against the No. 34 team and the circumstances leading to the issues with the team’s car after the event in Pocono this past weekend,” the team said in a statement on Wednesday. “FRM has initiated the appeal process with NASCAR and will have no further comment until after the process has reached a conclusion.”
Sunday was a big day for post-race penalties as original race winner Denny Hamlin and second-place finisher Kyle Busch were both disqualified after the fact when Joe Gibbs Racing’s cars were found to have small pieces of tape placed on the front ends, which is not allowed. Neither of those disqualifications was appealed, though they did express being “shocked” by the news.
