What are some of the penalties for breaking the NASCAR rules?

NASCAR lays out certain rules and if a driver or team breaks those, they can face penalties like fines, point deductions, or suspensions. These penalties are decided after inspections before, during, and after races.

Overall, NASCAR has three levels of penalties. L1 penalties are for small issues, like car height or loose lug nuts. They include fines of up to $100,000, point losses (10-40) and short suspensions. L2 penalties are for more serious problems. Part manipulations, for example, can lead to bigger fines of $250,000, more points lost (75), and longer 4-6 race suspensions.

In 2023, five teams were fined for changing parts on their cars. This included Kyle Larson's No. 5 team, which lost 100 points and had to pay a $100,000 fine. The crew chiefs of the teams were also suspended for four races.

However, the change of car parts like engines, tires, or fuel and the use of illegal performance boosters carry the highliest level of penalties. These can lead to major fines between $250,000 and $500,000 and upto 180 point deductions and six race suspensions.

Moreover, NASCAR has disqualified drivers for failing post-race inspections. Alex Bowman was eliminated from the Round of 8 this year after his car was too light in a post-race inspection at Bank of America ROVAL 400.

NASCAR has also given out some unusual penalties over the years. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was fined and lost points in 2004 for swearing in an interview.

"It don’t mean shit, daddy’s won here 10 times, so I got to do a little more winning but we're going to get there and he was the master. I'm just following his track,” Earnhardt said.

Lee Petty also lost a championship win in 1950 for racing in unsanctioned events and Curtis Turner was banned for trying to start a drivers' union in 1960.

---

NASCAR's recent penalty of $600,000 to three teams

This season, NASCAR penalized three drivers and teams with a total of $600,000 in fines for manipulating race results after the playoff race in Martinsville.

Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, and Bubba Wallace were each fined $100,000. They also faced a 50-point deduction and a one-race suspension for crew members and spotters.

These penalties were given after reviewing their radio chats during the Martinsville Cup race. Dillon and Chastain were found to have blocked William Byron and kept others from passing him. Whereas, Wallace was fined for slowing down to help Christopher Bell, who later did not make it to the Championship 4. Bell was also penalized for attempting a "wall ride" like Ross Chastain's Hail Melon in 2022.