“NASCAR did not like that”: Denny Hamlin comments on the new appeal process after HMS overturned L2 Level penalties for their "shenanigans" in 2023

Denny Hamlin has commented on the reason behind NASCAR's new appeal process after Hendrick Motorsports restored their owners and playoff points awarded for their L2 level penalty last year. This time, Richard Childress Racing has appealed against Austin Dillon's penalty and is due for a hearing on Wednesday, August 21.

On March 10, HMS' all four cars- Kyle Larson's #5, William Byron's #24, Chase Elliott's #9, and Alex Bowman's #48's hood louvers were confiscated before practice at Phoenix Raceway. The drivers were allowed to race as the team replaced all louvers to comply with the technical inspection, with Byron triumphing at the 1-mile oval.

However, upon examining the parts at the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, NASCAR discovered unapproved modifications and slapped HMS with massive penalties. The four crew chiefs were fined $100,000 each (paid by the team) and were suspended for the next four race weekends. Moreover, the owner was docked 100 points, and 10 playoff points were stripped from each driver.

Nonetheless, the team appealed to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel and got NASCAR's decision overturned. Though the crew chiefs' suspension and the $400,000 fine were upheld, the 100 owners and 10 playoff points taken away by NASCAR were restored.

As a result, in April 2023, NASCAR amended the appeal process to ensure that the NMAP and the Final Appeal Officer may not completely remove an element of the originally passed penalty. Furthermore, any modifications to the penalty are limited to the minimum and maximum ranges listed in the Rule Book.

Denny Hamlin commented on the new appeal process and highlighted that NASCAR didn't like how the Appeals Panel handled HMS' penalty, completely overturning their points ruling.

"After the Hendrick louver shenanigans or whatever it might be right, where the panel says, 'They're guilty but we're going to just change the penalty.' Nascar did not like that one bit, like not even a little bit," Hamlin said via Dirty Mo Media on X (0:06).

"So they changed the language I believe to say, 'The Panel has to judge are they guilty of what we said they are or not?' And if they're not, then you can say there is no penalty but you can't just change it, come up with a new penalty like they did for the Hendrick guys," he added.

Chase Elliott was not awarded any points reduction as he didn't participate due to his snowboarding accident, and Josh Berry wasn't penalized since he wasn't a Cup driver.

Denny Hamlin sheds light on the defense NASCAR could take for Austin Dillon's penalty appeal

The 23rd Cup Series weekend at the Richmond Raceway witnessed Austin Dillon snap his 68-race winless streak and secure his playoff berth. However, in due process, he wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final corner to clear the path to his victory.

Thus, NASCAR slapped Austin Dillon with harsh penalties on Wednesday. The #3 Chevy driver was allowed to keep the Federated Auto Parts 400 win but his playoff spot was deemed invalid.

Dillon's spotter, Brandon Benesch, was suspended for three races because of his "wreck him" radio command during the final lap.

As RCR's appeal nears its hearing, Denny Hamlin explained the possible grounds for their rebuttal of the penalties. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also iterated the defense NASCAR could bank upon.

"More likely, it would be of the angle that it's unprecedented that a win has counted but not been eligible for the playoffs. You put in your rulebook that you have a win and it puts you in the playoffs," Denny Hamlin said via Actions Detrimental podcast (10:29).

"I would argue that a little bit because I read some language to you last week that was in the rulebook that when it comes to the kind of fairness of the sport they can make unprecedented calls, I think what NASCAR is going to defend," the JGR driver added.

Had Austin Dillon not crashed into Denny Hamlin, the #11 Toyota driver would've sealed his fourth win this season.