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Since the penalty rulings this past Wednesday regarding the actions during the conclusion of the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway, everyone has been waiting on RCR to go to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. But how does the appeal process work?
NASCAR has rules in place for a reason, whether it be safety-related or to keep competitive advantages within certain restrictions. Drivers and teams always push the edge of these lines, but when NASCAR deems they have crossed the line, action is taken in the form of penalties.
Penalties handed down by NASCAR can take many forms, but the most common are points penalties, fines, and possibly suspensions for the driver and team. Once the penalty is assessed to the respective team, they have a timeline to submit an appeal if they feel they did not actually commit said infraction or if they feel the penalty was too harsh for the crime that was actually committed.
This is where the National Motorsports Appeals Panel (NMAP) comes into play. The NMAP is a panel made up of owners, former drivers, track operators, administrators, and others that do not have a racing background. This allows for an impartial hearing for the team and/or driver appealing a penalty. With a diverse panel, there are many angles of the situation that can be viewed at once. The goal is not to give an advantage to one party or another, but rather having a panel allows for the best possible outcome for the sport.
When it is time for a hearing with a team and/or driver, the NMAP will meet with both the sanctioning body of NASCAR as well as with the team and/or driver to discuss the penalty in question. During this hearing, they will hear from NASCAR on the reasoning for penalization, the rule relating to this penalty, and why they felt this was the proper action to take. They will then hear from the driver and/or team. During this portion, they will have the opportunity to inform the appeals panel of why they feel like this penalty ruling should be overturned or reduced as it relates to historical data and the rules in question.
The appeal panel and final appeal officer have the options to decrease areas of a penalty, but a full removal of a single level of a penalty is only allowed if the penalty is overturned. This rule came after the ruling on March 29th, 2023 when the appeals panel reduced the 100-point fine to Hendrick Motorsports and Kaulig Racing for modified louvers. While reducing the point fine to zero, they left the $100,000 fine and suspensions in place.
RCR and Austin Dillon are about to approach this panel, but what will they need? First, they need a to have a case. They will need to have the data from this event and historical data that back the notion that the ruling is unfair towards RCR. Second, they will need to prepare a solid argument on why the actions that were penalized are not in fact against the NASCAR rule book. Lastly, they will need to have a course of action moving forward. While there is an opportunity to overturn the ruling, it is not always the case.
No matter what happens, the appeal panel will have the final say on if RCR and Austin Dillon crossed the line. Only time will tell now.
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