Jeremy Clements receives L1 penalty for Vegas body infraction

Bubba Wallace might have the highest profile NASCAR penalty this week, but the hammer has come down on Jeremy Clements as well. Due to a composite body infraction in Sunday’s Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he has received an L1-level penalty that drops forty points from his total. His crew chief Mark Setzer has been fined USD$25,000 (€25,585.12) and suspended for the upcoming race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In particular, Clements’ #51 car was found to have violated Section 14.4.B of the rulebook which reads, “Flange Fit Composite Body must be used as supplied from the manufacturer without modification.” Rather than steel like in the past, Xfinity car bodies since 2017 are made of composite material that is separated into thirteen pieces and put together. In the event of a crash that damages parts of the body, teams can simply replace that section rather than repair the entire body.

To keep teams from tampering with the body for aerodynamic advantages and the like, NASCAR instituted Section 14.4.B into the rules.

It is the second penalty that Clements received in 2022 after suffering an L2 penalty in August following his Daytona win, though that was subsequently overturned.

“JCR respects NASCAR’s decision on the penalty levied to us today relating to our rear bumper cover, which did not conform to the repair guidelines set forth by NASCAR,” reads a team statement. “We apologize to our fans and partners for this unfortunate oversight and are focused on continuing to represent them with the same fervor as our previous 12 years of NASCAR competition.”

The penalty does not impact Clements’ points standing as he was already eliminated from the playoffs after the Round of 12.