Hendrick Motorsports Declines to Appeal Richmond Penalties
Hendrick Motorsports announced Monday they will not appeal penalties for infractions on the NASCAR Cup Series cars Alex Bowman and William Byron ran at Richmond Raceway.
NASCAR penalized the two teams for an improper roof hatch assembly they each allegedly ran at Richmond.
Each team lost 60 driver and owner championship points and five driver and owner playoff points. Fill-in crew chiefs Greg Ives and Brian Campe each lost $75,000 and received a 2-race suspension, effective after Bristol dirt.
Hendrick Motorsports released the following statement regarding their decision not to appeal the penalties:
Because we will be best served by devoting our time and resources to competing each weekend, our team will not pursue an appeal of penalties issued on April 6. The area of the race cars NASCAR focused on is not related to our performance on the track.
Bowman and Byron’s regular crew chiefs, Blake Harris and Rudy Fugle, were already going to be back after Bristol dirt, rendering the suspensions for the Richmond infraction almost moot.
NASCAR suspended Harris and Fugle after Phoenix over improper louvers discovered before qualifying there.
Hendrick Motorsports appealed the initial penalty and won. The appeals panel scrubbed the points penalties but kept the fines and suspensions intact.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com