Hendrick penalty reduced, Suarez fined

Alex Bowman is once again the NASCAR Cup Series points leader. On Wednesday, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel overturned a 100-point penalty given to him and his Hendrick Motorsports team-mates William Byron and Kyle Larson.

The trio suffered the penalty following the Phoenix race in early May due to their hood louvers, which are sourced from a single vendor, having illegal modifications, a violation of Sections 14.1 and 14.5 of the rulebook. Although the panel agreed that Hendrick had broken the rule, they deemed the points penalty too harsh and withdrew it. While Chase Elliott was not impacted as he is injured, his #9 car lost 100 owner points that have also been restored.

While the points penalty is dropped, the panel is keeping the USD$100,000 (€92,331) fine for each car and suspensions of all four cars’ crew chiefs.

Bowman, who had been sixteenth in points after COTA due to the penalty, moves all the way up to first. Byron is elevated from twenty-second to third, while Larson moves from twenty-seventh to ninth.

“We are grateful to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel for their time and attention,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “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.”

The same penalty also befell Justin Haley‘s #31 Kaulig Racing car, which has an alliance with Hendrick. Haley’s appeal is set for next Wednesday, 5 April.

The panel for the ruling was overseen by truck/trailer retailer Kelly Housby, longtime racing executive Dixon Johnston, and former driver Bill Lester. It is important to note that the panel is independent from NASCAR, who was dismayed by the result.

“We are pleased that the National Motorsports Appeals Panel agreed that Hendrick Motorsports violated the rule book,” reads a NASCAR statement. “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. We will continue to inspect and officiate the NASCAR garage at the highest level of scrutiny to ensure a fair and level playing field for our fans and the entire garage.”

The reversal was not the only penalty-related news involving Bowman as Daniel Suárez lost $50,000 (€46,168) for ramming into Bowman’s car on pit road at the end of the COTA event. Suárez and Bowman had clashed in the late stages of the race, causing the former to fall to twenty-seventh and prompting him to retaliate by knocking aside his Trackhouse Racing team-mate Ross Chastain to express his displeasure with Bowman. Suárez and Chastain later had a dialogue before they went off on their own terms.

Shortly after the fine was announced, Suárez tweeted a meme describing his “current financial status” as being poor enough to draw a Nike logo on a sock with a Sharpie marker.

Denny Hamlin, who was docked twenty-five points for admitting to intentionally forcing Chastain into the wall at Phoenix, criticised Hendrick’s penalty being overturned. His appeal is set for 6 April.

“Hell, I don’t even know anymore,” began one tweet from Hamlin. Another read, “Just as a reminder. I went on a podcast and apparently broke 3 rules 24 hours later. 50k and 25 POINTS.”