NASCAR has fined Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 team $40,000 and penalized HMS 40 owner points and 10 NASCAR Playoff owner points following Chase Elliott’s fourth-place finish at Pocono Raceway.
NASCAR says that this is a violation of Sections 14.3.3.2.1.1 K&L: Main Frame Rail Conical Receivers. Per the NASCAR Xfinity Series Rule Book:
K. Main frame rail conical receivers will not be permitted to be moved without having the chassis re-certified prior to the Event at which that chassis will compete.
L. Modifications to main frame rail conical receivers that were made to circumvent NASCAR inspection processes, measurement equipment, and/or gauges will not be permitted.
HMS has yet to comment on the matter. In addition to the financial and points implications for the No. 17, the car’s primary Crew Chief, Adam Wall, will serve a three-race suspension from NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
Prior to this penalty, the car sat 16th in owner points, with 365; after assessment, the team will drop to 20th with 325 points. This penalty will have little effect on the HMS car’s plans, as it does not compete full-time, having entered ten of the season’s 16 races so far.
Elliott will remain unaffected by this penalty, as he is one of a handful of part-time drivers of HMS’s No. 17. This year, all four of Hendrick’s Cup Series drivers, alongside their prospect, Corey Day, have driven the No. 17 car. The car has not entered EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta this weekend.
So far this season, the No. 17 has two wins, one with Kyle Larson and another with William Byron. Per a release from Hendrick, the car is not scheduled to compete until the Jul. 12 race at Sonoma Raceway with Day behind the wheel. This is a developing story.
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