On Thursday afternoon, NASCAR dealt L1 penalties to the No. 24 and No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports teams due to a parts modification found during a post-race inspection last weekend at Richmond Raceway.
Cup Series drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman have each lost 60 points in the driver standings and five playoff points, while Hendrick Motorsports was docked 60 points in owner standings and five playoff owner points.
Crew chiefs Brian Campe (Byron) and Greg Ives (Bowman) were also given a two-race suspension, starting April 13, and fined $75,000. Campe and Ives were acting as fill-ins for full-time crew chiefs Rudy Fugle (Byron) and Blake Harris (Bowman), whom NASCAR suspended for four races following the previous penalty NASCAR levied against Hendrick Motorsports on March 15.
Most recently, the team was found in violation of Sections 14.1.D Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules, 14.1.2.B Engineering Change Log and 14.5.6.B: Greenhouse in the NASCAR Rule Book.
It was determined that the No. 24 and No. 28 Chevrolets had modifications to the greenhouse area — changes which could potentially result in an aerodynamic advantage. The greenhouse area involves the top portion of the Next Gen car, including the front and rear glass as well as the roof.Â
The specific rule Hendrick Motorsports violated stated that the only modification to the greenhouse area permitted at all race tracks would be “a windshield wiper motor where required.” The two cars were further inspected at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., following Sunday’s race in Richmond.
Previous to the penalty, Bowman was leading the Cup Series points, while Byron was settled in fourth. The No. 48 has now fallen to seventh and the No. 24 is 14th in the driver standings.Â
Hendrick Motorsports has yet to announce if they will appeal the penalty.