“Favouritism towards HMS is so pathetic”- NASCAR Twitter reacts as Appeals panel rescinds Hendrick Motorsports points penalties
HMS was penalized for the un-sanctioned modification of single vendor-supplied parts.
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No:5 HMS Chevy Camaro ZL1
Hendrick Motorsports will be a moderately happy garage in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. The appeal panel has revoked the owners, championship, and playoff points penalty imposed on the team. Alex Bowman, the most consistent driver of 2023, has returned to the top, while William Byron is up to P3.
At the same time, the suspension of the crew chiefs and the historic $400K fines is not revoked as the appeal body has found that HMS is guilty of all the accused counts. The crew chiefs are sitting out since Phoenix will return after serving the 4 race ban, and the current backup crew chiefs will continue to serve with the respective drivers.
The committee members were former driver Bill Lester, truck/trailer retailer Kelly Housby, and racing marketing executive Dixon Johnston. They were selected from a pool of panelists. The ruling has prompted multiple changes to the qualifying line-up for Richmond. The committee will have from Denny Hamlin and Kaulig Racing appeals, given the same time as HMS, next week.
“Today’s outcome reflects the facts, and we’re pleased the panel did the right thing by overturning the points penalty. It validated our concerns regarding unclear communication and other issues we raised,” Rick Hendrick said about the result of the appeal.
While NASCAR isn’t happy with the total outcome of the penalty. NASCAR’s statement read, “We are pleased that the National Motorsports Appeals Panel agreed that Hendrick Motorsports violated the rule book. However, we are disappointed that the entirety of the penalty was not upheld,”.
“A points penalty is a strong deterrent that is necessary to govern the garage following rule book violations, and we believe that it was an important part of the penalty in this case and moving forward. We will continue to inspect and officiate the NASCAR garage at the highest level of scrutiny to ensure a fair and level playing field for our fans and the entire garage,” NASCAR added.
In case you missed it: Tyler Reddick was ‘too good and too much’ for William Byron at COTA
Here is how fans on Twitter reacted to the penalty update
Fans had a mixed reaction to the update in penalty. Some pointed out that it was a biased decision, and HMS, the most dominant team in NASCAR, is getting away from penalties with their influence. On the other hand, some pointed out that NASCAR wronged HMS, and that the decision was right.
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Justin P Joy
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