UPDATED: Austin Dillon and Crew Chief Hit with Massive Penalty after Martinsville

What’s Happening?

It’s that time of the week again, penalty day! NASCAR seems to be picking on the Chevrolet guys, because yet another Chevy driver is hit with a big penalty following a trip to R&D in Charlotte.

• Austin Dillon was hit with a reduction of 60 regular season 5 playoff points, and crew chief Keith Rodden hit with a $75,000 fine and a 2 race suspension.
• The penalty comes after NASCAR took Dillon’s #3 Chevrolet back to R&D where it was discovered to have an illegal underwing mounting/assembly hardware.
• This is yet another penalty for a Chevy driver, Dillon joins the list of all 4 Hendrick Motorsports driver, with William Byron and Alex Bowman being hit with 2 separate penalties, and Justin Haley, driver of the 31 Kaulig Racing Chevy.

It will be interesting to see if Richard Childress Racing decides to appeal this penalty, as NASCAR’s new rules for the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are in place. If they do decide to appeal, it could be the first time we as fans can see the details of the decision made.

Update 4:30pm EST

RCR has announced through their Twitter account that they do plan on appealing the penalties.

From the Officials

NASCAR tweets about the penalty below.

NEWS: The No. 3 car has been issued an L1-level penalty following @MartinsvilleSwy.

Crew chief Keith Rodden has been fined $75,000 and suspended from the next two points events.

The team and driver have been assessed with the loss of 60 points and 5 NASCAR Playoff points. pic.twitter.com/slhZTq7a3w

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 19, 2023

In the stands

Walker seems to think the NMAP will decide a penalty didn’t occur.

Anthony noticed the trend that Chevy’s are the ones having these issues.

Cody found a positive from the penalty!

Johnny thinks the penalty is a bit harsh given the nature of the penalty.

From the Pressbox

Bob Pockrass, Reporter for Fox Sports, shares the announcement with a points update.

The 60-point penalty drops Austin Dillon from 21st to 28th in the standings and from 24 points to 84 points behind the current playoff cutoff. https://t.co/C8GRjqusA3

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 19, 2023

This penalty, if upheld in its entirety, is massive for Austin Dillon. He was within striking distance of the playoff cutoff on points, and this is a major setback. Dillon still has some very strong tracks for him coming up, including this weekend at Talladega, but without a win, his chances of pointing in took a big hit today.

There is still no word on whether RCR will appeal this penalty or not. Hendrick Motorsports elected not to appeal their latest penalties on William Byron and Alex Bowman, did the new rules NASCAR put in place regarding appeals sway their decision to not appeal? We will update with any response from RCR.