Kaulig Racing’s Chris Rice states his team did ‘nothing wrong’

NASCAR's recent crackdown on several teams in the 2023 Cup Series season has witnessed four cars from Hendrick Motorsports, as well as one car from Kaulig Racing receive penalties after last weekend's practice sessions at Phoenix Raceway.

In what has been the largest collective penalty handed out in the sport's history, several teams and drivers were found to be in violation of the governing body's rulebook in Avindale, Arizona.

The L2 level penalties were handed out to all four Hendrick Motorsports cars and 2 of their drivers, along with Justin Haley from Kaulig Racing, along with the #31 crew at the Kernersville, North Carolina-based racing outfit.

A few days after the official announcement was made to suspend each team's crew chiefs for 4 weekends, as well as a $100,000 fine and a 100 point deduction from the regular season as well as a 10-point playoff decution, Kaulig Racing's president Chris Rice spoke about the developments.

Rice spoke about how the team plans to react to the penalty in a press release going forward, as well as defended his crew for not altering any supplier-sourced parts from NASCAR, and said:

"We focus on the positive stuff at Kaulig Racing, we don't focus on the negative stuff and it's easy to get involved in the negative stuff and get involved in whatever is being said or whatever people think. At the end of the day, my guys did nothing wrong and I know Matt Kaulig stands behind that, I stand behind that."

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Kaulig Racing set to appeal L2 level penalty from NASCAR

Just like Hendrick Motorsports' decision to appeal the penalty for using altered/modified hood louvers in practice during the Phoenix weekend, Kaulig Racing is set to do the same and go after the root of why the penalties were levied on the team.

Coming from the standpoint of having done nothing to break the regulations stated in the NASCAR rulebook, the Kernersville, North Carolina-based racing outfit announced its decision in an official press release today.

The statement cited inconsistencies in the hood louvers supplied by NASCAR in their press release, which read:

“Only one of the two louvers on the #31 car was confiscated, showing inconsistencies in the parts provided to teams from NASCAR’s single source supplier, providing no competitive advantage.”

It remains to be seen what comes of these appeals after the teams and NASCAR go back and forth on the basis of the penalties. Meanwhile, drivers prepare to go racing during the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this Sunday (March 19) at 3:00 pm ET.