NASCAR world reacts to new Hendrick Motorsports penalties

One week after winning their appeal on a massive penalty, two Hendrick Motorsports cars were penalized by NASCAR for different infractions.

After taking their cars to NASCAR’s R&D Center, the sanctioning body penalized the #24 of William Byron and the #48 of Alex Bowman for their cars that raced at Richmond Raceway. Both were docked 60 regular season and five playoff driver/owner points, while crew chiefs Brian Campe and Greg Ives were fined $75,000 and suspended for two races.

The alleged violation comes from a modification to the “greenhouse area” of the car. That consists of the roof and the front and rear windows. It’s unclear what the exact violation was, but that’s the rule NASCAR cited. Hendrick Motorsports haven’t yet decided if they will appeal. Instead, the team posted a statement saying they “will determine the next steps following Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.”

We are reviewing the penalties issued today by NASCAR and will determine next steps following Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. https://t.co/NHJUKEknSe

— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) April 6, 2023

This comes off the heels of a rather controversial ruling where all four Hendrick teams appealed and had their 100-point penalties restored for a violation involving the louvers on the hood of the cars. They still had the $100,000 fine and crew chief suspension for each car, but they got their points back which is the most important thing. Meanwhile, Kaulig Racing, who had the same penalty, had their points penalty cut to 75 instead of 100.

While different arbiters were involved in each appeal, many fans were confused and/or angry that even though two teams were accused of violating the same rule, one team seemingly got away with it, and the other didn’t. This news, happening less than 24 hours after the Kaulig appeal ruling, didn’t help matters as fans either believed this was retaliation from NASCAR for the appeal ruling or assuming that Hendrick will once again get away with breaking a rule.

Nascar acting like a bad ex rn 😂 https://t.co/6hqNX2kuUE

— Historic Racetrack Aerials (@RacingAerials) April 6, 2023

Don’t worry they’ll reverse the decision afterwards it’s okay Hendrick fans. #NASCAR75 https://t.co/f2KaMS22Hh

— BuiJay the Motorsport Protogen 🏎 (@BuiJay24) April 6, 2023

i mean

they're just gonna appeal and win again https://t.co/N6fw8sm4Nn

— DeeDeeFifty (Big Dinner Influencer) (@DeeDeeFifty) April 6, 2023

https://twitter.com/RuckusNASCAR/status/1644080329546780673?s=20

Watch them win the appeal and gain it all back again lol https://t.co/JY0yRF3gPb

— Avery Hage (@AveryHage) April 6, 2023

The back-and-forth with these penalties, appeals & uncertainty is not the best look for the sport. https://t.co/IOOsd14J9d

— Jay W. Pennell (@jaywpennell) April 6, 2023

[NASCAR/Team Hendrick]