Hendrick Motorsports somehow wiggled itself out of a deep points hole after the organization partially won its appeal against NASCAR for modifying hood louvers before the Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
However, the possibility of another penalty has now risen after the move by NASCAR following the event at Richmond Raceway.
NASCAR takes William Byron and Alex Bowman’s cars to R&D Center, Hendrick Motorsports could face penalty
Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway for the second time in his career and finished off an incredible week for Hendrick Motorsports. In fact, Larson gained 15 playoff points from Monday to Sunday night.
The Appeals Panel decided to leave the fines and suspensions but give Hendrick Motorsports the 100 points and 10 playoff points back to each driver. This was determined after the Appeals Panel said the organization did break the rules.
NASCAR was not pleased with the result and it is understandable. The ability to modify NextGen parts and not get a points penalty has now increased as the Appeals Panel has now set the precedent.
Fast forward to post-race inspection at Richmond Raceway and Hendrick Motorsports now faces another potential battle. Larson’s car officially passed post-race inspection; however, NASCAR announced it would take William Byron and Alex Bowman’s cars back to the R&D Center.
This means NASCAR will have a very thorough inspection of the vehicles brought to Richmond and determine if any infractions occurred. It also helps NASCAR determine where teams are at with the NextGen car.
Hendrick Motorsports received a penalty the last time that NASCAR took parts or cars back to the R&D Center. Granted, this is a different situation than what occurred at Phoenix Raceway last month.
This is more so geared toward what has been seen for a long time. NASCAR randomly selects cars and inspects them during the week. The penalty report is typically released on Tuesday or Wednesday of the same week.
Most of the time, nothing comes from it but due to the NextGen car, we have seen an increase in major penalties since the start of the 2022 season. Continue reading to find out more about the penalties that have come for this exact situation in the past.
Related: Hendrick Motorsports making big return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series
List of NASCAR penalties coming from the R&D Center since the start of 2022
As stated above, NASCAR normally doesn’t find much of anything during these inspections at the R&D Center but the NextGen car has changed that fact. This started with Brad Keselowski after the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway last season.
Keselowski’s team was found to have modified a NextGen part and was given a hefty penalty. In fact, it was the same penalty that each driver for Hendrick Motorsports received after Phoenix Raceway before the Appeals Panel changed it.
This happened two more times over the course of the season. The next time was Michael McDowell and he received the same penalty as Keselowski. Ironically, Blake Harris, crew chief of Bowman, was McDowell’s crew chief at that time.
Harris received a four-race suspension in both 2022 and 2023 for his actions. He is currently serving his last week at Bristol Dirt while Greg Ives is scheduled to be on top of the box for the No. 48 car.
Finally, Kevin Harvick was slapped with the same exact penalty during the 2022 NASCAR playoffs. The No. 4 car had a modification just like Keselowski and McDowell. Harvick was already eliminated from the playoffs but it could have been even more disastrous.
The difference between these three scenarios and the latest penalty is that Hendrick Motorsports didn’t have to send any cars to the R&D Center. NASCAR took the parts and determined that they were modified.
It feels like NASCAR will have a close eye on the Hendrick Motorsports camp after they got off easy with their latest penalty. Byron and Bowman likely won’t receive any penalties but it is worth monitoring over the next few days.