Kaulig Racing gets points back in final Phoenix penalty appeal

A final appeal reversed all points penalties NASCAR levied against Kaulig Racing’s No. 31 team for modified louvers at Phoenix.

Final appeals officer Bill Mullis announced the decision Tuesday morning. NASCAR asked Mullis to give the team all of its back “in the interest of fairness.”

Justin Haley will jump to 25th in points, 61 points behind a playoff spot.

Haley’s No. 31 team still faces a $100,000 fine and a 4-race suspension for crew chief Trent Owens. However, those penalties now reflect what Hendrick Motorsports received for a similar violation.

Kaulig Racing issued the following statement following the reversal of the points penalties:

After the Phoenix Raceway weekend in March, NASCAR penalized the No. 31 team and all four Hendrick Motorsports teams.

Each team lost 100 driver and owner points, 10 driver and owner playoff points. NASCAR also suspended each crew chief four races and fined them $100,000.

During Hendrick Motorsports’ appeal, a panel overturned all of their points penalties. However, another group of panelists didn’t overturn Kaulig Racing’s points penalties.

Tuesday’s decision corrects that, in NASCAR’s eyes.

Final appeals officer Bill Mullis issued the following statement on the decision:

“In the interest of fairness, NASCAR has requested that I remove the driver/owner race and playoff points from the penalty to Kaulig Racing. I have agreed to this request, per the Rule Book. During its opening remarks, NASCAR stated it believes that the violations did occur, the penalties were appropriate and the three-person appeals panel ruled correctly. But, because the Kaulig infraction closely mirrored that of Hendrick Motorsports (modified louver at Phoenix Raceway), NASCAR requested I rule in the same manner as the three-person appeals panel following the Hendrick Motorsports appeal on March 29. The information I heard in the room this morning created an overwhelming and unique circumstance. In fairness to the team and sanctioning body, as NASCAR documented in its remarks, this request is fully in the interest of fairness and consistency, and I agree.”

NASCAR issued the following statement on the decision:

“NASCAR believes that Kaulig Racing committed the violations documented in the penalty notice, that the penalties were appropriate and that the three-person appeals panel ruled correctly when hearing the Kaulig appeal on April 5. However, in the interest of treating all competitors fairly, NASCAR today requested that the Final Appeals Officer remove the race and playoff points from the penalty. 

The Kaulig and Hendrick Motorsports violations involved the same modified part found during the same race weekend (modified louver at Phoenix Raceway), and with fairness and consistency top of mind, NASCAR requested that the FAO match the final Hendrick Motorsports penalty.  NASCAR believes that the updates made to the Rule Book will address similar issues in the future and keep its promise to the owners for strict penalties when single-source parts are modified.  We are pleased with the swift resolution to today’s appeal, appreciate Bill Mullis’ ruling and now look forward to this weekend’s events at Talladega Superspeedway.”