Panel Mostly Upholds Kaulig Racing Penalties
The National Motorsports Appeals Panel ruled Wednesday to slightly reduce the Kaulig Racing No. 31 team’s points penalties but uphold all other penalties.
The No. 31 team will be penalized 75 driver and owner championship points, 10 driver and owner playoff points. Crew chief Trent Owens is also suspended for four races and is fined $100,000.
“I respect everybody involved but it’s disheartening. Everyone knows what goes on in the garage area with single-source parts. I stand by my guys and I say that we upheld the rules,” Kaulig Team President Chris Rice told FS1.
Hunter Nickell, Shawna Robinson and Steve York heard Kaulig Racing’s appeal Wednesday.
NASCAR penalized the No. 31 team the week after after confiscating a louver before qualifying at Phoenix Raceway. They also penalized all four Hendrick Motorsports teams after confiscating their louvers before qualifying at Phoenix.
Each team faced:
- A loss of 100 driver and owner championship points (No. 9 team exempt from driver points penalty)
- A loss 10 driver and owner playoff points (No. 9 team exempt from driver points penalty)
- $100,000 fine and four-race suspension for all crew chiefs
Panelists Kelly Housby, Dixon Johnston and Bill Lester upheld Hendrick Motorsports’ fines and suspensions but scrubbed points penalties against the organization.
Details of each appeal are unclear. The only details released are the panelists’ names and the final, agreed-upon penalties.
Kaulig Racing is expected to make a final appeal on the penalties. The final appeals officer is Langley Speedway owner Bill Mullis.
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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