NASCAR officials said Thursday that Hendrick Motorsports‘ appeal of penalties handed to all four of its Cup Series race teams will be heard Wednesday, March 29.
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NASCAR penalized each of Hendrick Motorsports‘ four Cup Series teams — along with the No. 31 team of Kaulig Racing — with L2-level penalties for unapproved parts modifications. Each crew chief was fined $100,000 and suspended for four races, and each team was further penalized with the loss of 100 team and driver points and 10 playoff points (with the exception of the No. 9, which did not lose driver points because it had a substitute driver who earns Xfinity Series points).
The penalties occurred after NASCAR confiscated the hood louvers from all five cars before the Cup race at Phoenix Raceway. The Hendrick teams involved were the No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Larson, the No. 9 of Josh Berry (subbing for the injured Chase Elliott), the No. 24 of William Byron and the No. 48 of Alex Bowman. The respective crew chiefs fined and receiving suspensions were Cliff Daniels, Alan Gustafson, Rudy Fugle and Blake Harris.
The NASCAR Rule Book section specifically referenced for the penalties was Section 14.5.4.2.A, which deals with how the radiator duct is assembled. The teams were found with unapproved modification of a single-source vendor-supplied part.
Hendrick Motorsports released a statement saying it would appeal the penalties, but would not request to defer the suspensions.
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