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NASCAR issued a penalty to Cole Custer and the #41 Stewart-Haas Racing team after discovering that Custer intentionally manipulated the race result on the final lap of last Sunday’s Round of 12 elimination race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.
The attempt helped his teammate Chase Briscoe secure the last remaining playoff spot to advance into the Round of 8.
The penalties fall under the headings of Sections 4.3.A, 4.4.C and 5.5 in NASCAR's rule book, which mandates that drivers race at 100% of their ability, and takes strict action against drivers who intend to manipulate the race’s result.
The penalties include docking off 50-points for both Cole Custer and his team in their respective points tables. Custer and his crew chief Michael Shiplett were each fined $100,000 and Shiplett was suspended indefinitely for the 2022 season.
While running ninth, Custer’s #41 car appeared to slow intentionally on the final lap, obstructing the path of Austin Dillon and Erik Jones entering the backstretch chicane.
The move allowed Chase Briscoe to advance to the next round of the 2022 playoffs with a two-point lead over defending Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson.
The #14 driver was listed in the final transfer spot via a tiebreaker. If he had finished below the top-12, then #5 driver would have been the eighth playoff driver.
Soon after Sunday’s race, the governing body confirmed that they would conduct a review of Custer’s final lap actions and radio transmission. Radio communication of #41 Stewart-Haas Racing team on the last lap revealed that Custer received an order from his crew chief Shiplett saying:
“Slow up, I think we got a flat tire. Check up, check up.”
"Done deliberately": NASCAR Vice President on Cole Custer’s actions at Charlotte Motor Speedway
NASCAR Vice President Scott Miller feels that Chase Briscoe has qualified for the next playoff round without the advantage of his teammate Cole Custer.
However, he admitted that after analyzing the car's data and the video, there’s no doubt that Custer's move was intentional. Miller said:
“That coupled with the data and the video and all the rest of the things that we looked into, well, that was the bulk of the things … nothing contradicted the fact that was done deliberately by those individuals, so we were certainly forced to react, and you saw their reaction today.”
NASCAR's Round of 8 of the 2022 playoff kick-off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. The race will begin at 2:30 pm ET on NBC and PRN.
