The NASCAR Cup series race at Phoenix International Raceway this past weekend can only be described as trouble. Few left Phoenix happy, and the few who did found trouble nipping at their heels.
By now, most of you know that William Byron captured his sixth career NASCAR cup victory and his second in as many weeks. However, his victory was largely overshadowed by other significant on the off-track events.
Probably the biggest story of the weekend was the confiscation of the hood louvers from all four Hendrick Motorsports cars during the Friday inspection at Phoenix. The hood louvers are a “single-sourced” part of the NextGen Car. Under the new rules, single-sourced parts may not be altered or manipulated by the teams without approval from NASCAR. This rule is strict, and NASCAR has implemented severe penalties for teams that have violated it in the past, including RFK Racing last season. As we found out on Wednesday, NASCAR is unwavering on this rule and Hendrick Motorsports has been hit with the most substantial penalty in recent memory.
Because of its manipulation of the hood louvers on its cars, each Hendrick Motorsports team was assessed a L2-level penalty. The penalty includes a fine of $100,000 and a four-race suspension for each crew chief, as well as a loss of 100 owner points for each team and 100 driver points for each driver. Additionally, each driver will lose 10 playoff points.
To put this penalty in perspective, Hendrick Motorsport driver Alex Bowman, who left Phoenix as the regular season points leader and is the only driver to finish every race this year in the top 10, was dropped to 23rd in points. William Bryon, who already has two wins on the season, was dropped to 29th in points.
Likely, the greatest impact of the Hendrick penalty will not be felt until the playoffs. Since the new playoff system was introduced, regular season playoff points have been a premium in advancing drivers to the final rounds of the playoff. Last year, Chase Elliott had to rely on the playoff points he accumulated in the regular season to reach the final round of the playoffs. The 10 playoff points William Byron gained for winning the last two races are now gone. Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman have negative playoff points as they had 1 and 0 playoff points, respectively, prior to the penalty. Given how tight the championship battle has been over the last few years, this may have the result of eliminating one or more of the Hendrick drivers from the later rounds of the playoffs.
With dominance of Hendrick, I expect each of the Hendrick drivers to win a race and advance to the playoffs. Now, however, they will be unable to rely on regular season playoff points to propel them through the elimination rounds.
It is important to note that Chase Elliott, who is currently out due to injury, will not be affected by the penalties. It is also important to point out that Kaulig and its driver, Justin Haley, had their hood louvers confiscated and face the same penalty as Hendrick.
As for the on-track trouble, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain were at it again. This time, on the final lap of the race, Hamlin drove Chastain into the fence, and then, after the duo fell through the field, hit him multiple times on the back straightaway and into turn 3.
On his Monday podcast, Hamlin admitted that the incident was not unintentional, stating, “Alright, I’m probably running sixth or seventh, I’m about to get passed by everyone behind me on fresh tires. I’m about to finish in the mid-teens. I said, ‘You’re [Chastain] coming with me buddy.’”
This incident marks a new chapter in the Denny-Ross saga that began last year at Gateway Speedway when Chastain got into the left-rear of Hamlin, sending him into the wall. Although Hamlin claims that the feud is now over, the move cost him $50,000, 25 driver points, and a potential top-10 finish. The move Hamlin, who is typically calculated and deliberate, pulled appeared imprecise and clunky as it ruined an otherwise solid performance. Many commentators have reacted negatively to Hamlin’s move as it ultimately cost him and his team nearly 40 driver points (when you add the positions lost to the points penalty).
This weekend, NASCAR heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for 1.5-mile pack racing, and Formula 1 is at the super-fast street-circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Zech Yoder is a local resident, an attorney at Adler Attorneys in Noblesville, and a lifelong race fan.