Hendrick Motorsports was hit with a penalty for William Byron and Alex Bowman after the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway due to greenhouse violations that were found at the R&D Center the same week.
What did Byron and Bowman have to say about NASCAR striking them with a penalty of 60 points and five playoff points?
Hendrick Motorsports drivers discuss NASCAR’s penalty toward them after Richmond
Hendrick Motorsports was slammed with a historic penalty at Phoenix Raceway that included a reduction of 100 driver/owner points, 10 playoff points, a $100,000 fine, and four-race crew chief suspension for each car.
The organization appealed the penalty and while the Appeals Panel declared it did break the rules, the 100 driver/owner points and 10 playoff points were restored to each car while the fine and suspension stood.
It caused anger to the point where NASCAR changed the rules to where a specific part of the penalty now can’t be fully removed if a rule is deemed broken. Now, the Appeals Panel can only keep it in the range determined by the rulebook.
Fast forward to next week, and Hendrick Motorsports had another issue. NASCAR took Byron and Bowman’s cars to the R&D Center where the sport found greenhouse violations that caused a reduction of 60 points, five playoff points, a $75,000 fine, and two-race crew chief suspension for each car.
Byron spoke out about the penalty before the race weekend at Richmond Raceway and he was clearly not happy with NASCAR about the situation.
“I feel like (NASCAR) could take all the cars to the R&D Center. I don’t understand it. I’m not happy…It doesn’t look very random, does it?…I don’t have anything good to say…It’s not a stain for us. We don’t really look outside our team. Our team has been great this year and we’ll keep it going.”
William Byron on his penalty due to a greenhouse violation
Byron is the only NASCAR Cup Series driver with two wins on the season and even with his five stage victories, he only has 10 playoff points due to the penalty. As expected, the driver of the No. 24 car was not happy but doesn’t think it will be a stain on their year.
Meanwhile, Bowman was asked about NASCAR’s penalty and while he was not as publicly angry as Byron, it is easy to tell the Hendrick Motorsports teammates are not happy with NASCAR’s decision to take the two cars to the R&D Center.
“A random inspection, man. It’s completely random! So, chances got us there…I feel like my team, we did a really good job of overcoming the first one and staying plugged in and not letting it get to us. I’m confident we can do that throughout the second one as well.”
Alex Bowman on his penalty due to a greenhouse violation
Bowman was obviously being sarcastic by saying it was completely random. The driver of the No. 48 car and Byron both seem to believe they were targeted due to the Appeal Panel’s decision on the modified hood louvers not rising to a 100-point penalty.
However, it has been determined that NASCAR does not have to be random in its selections. If the sport wants to take specific cars to the R&D Center following an event, it has every right to make that decision.
Hendrick Motorsports released a statement on Monday afternoon that revealed its next steps moving forward following NASCAR’s issued penalty.
Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes a bold stance on Hendrick Motorsports’ modified penalty
Hendrick Motorsports won’t appeal penalties despite no performance advantage
Hendrick Motorsports issued a statement on the day of the penalties that it would wait until the week following the Bristol Dirt race to make a decision on what to do with it moving forward.
The organization already partially won an appeal against NASCAR so one could imagine it would be another opportunity for the team to get off with a slap on the wrist again. However, this is not the case.
Hendrick Motorsports released the following on Monday afternoon in regard to its next steps following the penalties issued to Byron and Bowman.
“Because we will be best served by devoting our time and resources to competing each weekend, our team will not pursue an appeal of the penalties issued on April 6. The area of the race cars NASCAR focused on is not related to our performance on the track.”
Hendrick Motorsports announces decision to not appeal recent penalites
Hendrick Motorsports just finished up an appeal process so it is not truly shocking to see them move on from doing another one. This statement also means the organization admits to modifying the greenhouse area of the vehicles.
Therefore, Byron and Bowman’s penalties will stand. Hendrick Motorsports also included that its violation does not affect the on-track performance. Either way, this situation has been closed and will remain in the past.
In the meantime, whether you are watching it live or looking for how to watch NASCAR on TV, Sportsnaut has you covered for the upcoming weekend at Martinsville Speedway!