Hendrick Motorsports will appeal against NASCAR’s penalization

Hendrick Motorsports has announced that they will appeal against the penalties issued by NASCAR on Wednesday (March 15). The team received a multitude of penalties for modifying the hood louvers in the previous race in Phoenix.

Hendrick Motorsports' three drivers Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and William Byron have been docked 100 points and were further penalized with 10 playoff points. Crew chiefs for the four cars Cliff Daniels, Alan Gustafson, Rudy Fugle, and Blake Harris have received a four-race suspension and a $100,000 fine. Each of the four entries has also been penalized with 100 owner points and 10 playoff points.

A statement released by Hendrick Motorsports read:

"We are disappointed with today’s decision by NASCAR to issue penalties and have elected to appeal based on a variety of facts that include:

• Louvers provided to teams through NASCAR’s mandated single-source supplier do not match the design submitted by the manufacturer and approved by NASCAR
• Documented inconsistent and unclear communication by the sanctioning body specifically related to louvers
• Recent comparable penalties issued by NASCAR have been related to issues discovered during a post-race inspection.”

The statement further stated that the modified parts were confiscated during a voluntary inspection 35 minutes after the opening of the garage and prior to any on-track activity. NASCAR took possession of the parts four hours later with no prior communication. It further argued that the situation had no bearing on Saturday's qualifying or Sunday's race.

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, was asked if the officials were tipped to examine the louvers or if it was a random inspection. He said:

"It’s random, if you will. … This isn’t unchartered waters for NASCAR. It’s been done for years. We will continue to do that. As we’re working through this car, we want to make sure that the car is in the box that it needs to be in and we’re officiating and inspecting at the level that we need to."

Hendrick Motorsports' statement added that 'the organization has made the strategic decision not to request deferral of personnel suspensions'. Interim crew chiefs for four races will be announced later.

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Hendrick Motorsports drivers drop down driver's standings

With each driver receiving a 100-point penalty, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and William Byron dropped down the pecking order. Chase Elliott is the only driver from the team who gained positions, as he was not part of the weekend.

Bowman who led the driver's standings dropped to the 23rd position with 54 points. Larson who was fifth in the standings has now ended up in 32nd position with 37 points. Byron who previously occupied fourth position now sits in 29th position, two places ahead of Larson.

Byron has two race wins in the bag and is the least affected driver from the playoff perspective. Larson and Bowman have not yet won a race and have their work cut out for the rest of the season.