Larry McReynolds backs NASCAR’s decision to penalize teams in 2023 severely, says the sport is saving the team owners from themselves
SHR’s Chase Briscoe was recently hit with one of the biggest penalties in the sport’s history.
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Larry McReynolds (Credits: Racer)
NASCAR has been determined to catch and penalize any team making unauthorized modifications to the Next-Gen car parts. It’s part of the sanctioning body’s bid to end the culture of always pushing the envelope to gain an edge over the opponent. Legendary crew chief turned race analyst Larry McReynolds believes NASCAR is doing the right thing with the penalties.
In the 2023 season, we witnessed some of the biggest penalties in sports history. NASCAR’s most accomplished team Hendrick Motorsports, all four groups were penalized once for modifying single vendor-supplied parts. The penalty was reduced after an appeal. Stewart Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and crew were recently hit with an L-3 level penalty for counterfeiting.
The sanctions from NASCAR received mixed reactions from the racing community as fans and team owners lined up for and against harsh treatment. Larry McReynolds is among the ones who believe NASCAR is doing the right thing. He pointed out that NASCAR is doing what team owners want them to do, save them from themselves.
“And it’s not NASCAR’s fault because they’re doing exactly what the owners asked them to do. Save us from ourselves. Make parts and pieces that we can’t monkey with that we can’t screw with. Because anytime we get an open book to be able to do stuff, it’s going to cost us a lot of money,” he told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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Larry McReynolds believes that teams have no option but to push the envelope
Cheeky modification to the car parts has always been part of NASCAR, and most often, the teams need to make such modifications as otherwise, they will be left out. Most teams in the Cup garage will be doing it, and they have taken their chances to have solid race days if the normal car package isn’t enough.
“Teams are pushing the envelope because if you don’t push the envelope, you know your neighbor is, and you’re going to be called down to the owner’s office going, why are we running so bad? What’s the deal? We’re not pushing the envelope. Well, you know what? Start pushing the envelope,” McReynolds said.
Two times, NASCAR Cup series champion Kyle Busch has recently admitted that 14 out of the 15 teams in the Cup garage cheat in a given day and get away without being caught. In the lower divisions where the regulation check is limited, unauthorized modifications prevail.
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Justin P Joy
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