Hendrick Motorsports Wins Appeal

You read the title right, Hendrick Motorsports wins again but this time it’s off the track.

NASCAR confiscated each team’s hood louvers in Phoenix, which after inspection were deemed to have been modified. The original penalties included 4-race suspensions for each crew chief. $100,000 fines and 100 owners points docked for each team. And the most damaging of them all. The removal of 10 playoff points for Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, and William Byron.

Today, Hendrick Motorsports basically escaped with a slap on the wrist. Crew chief suspensions and fines are upheld, with all owner and driver playoff points restored. That’s the big win. This decision has a major impact on the current NASCAR standings. Now, Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and William Byron sit in the top 3 with Kyle Larson moving to 9th.

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There was no doubt in my mind, these drivers would have made up the difference. This just gave them an early-season boost. Post penalties, no Hendrick driver ranked inside the top 20 in points.

This move doesn’t do the sport any good in defending any garage talk that it favors the higher-profile teams. Nascar didn’t oversee the appeal, but from the fans’ perspective, it is still their responsibility. They did voice their disappointment surrounding the appeal:

I personally don’t mind it because Hendrick has been great both before and after the situation. Hopefully, we don’t run into an end-of-season points battle decided by any margin close to the originally penalized amount.