NASCAR’s rule book has been used quite a bit so far this season, and it’s kind of hard to keep up. Here are all of the post-race penalties given out this season thus far. How does it compare to last season?
Martin Truex Jr: After a lose wheel during the Wise Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway, Martin Truex Jr was held for two laps on pit road during the race, but also was penalized afterwards. Two crew members from the Joe Gibbs Racing #19 team were suspended for two races following the incident.
Hendrick Motorsports: All four Hendrick Motorsports teams were penalized for modifying a single-source Gen-7 car part, more specifically, hood louvers. All four crew chiefs were fined $100,000, suspended for four races, lost 100 driver (Except for Josh Berry as he was ineligible for Cup points) and owner points, and lost 10 playoff points. The points penalty was later overturned on appeal, however, the fines and suspensions stood.
Justin Haley: The Kaulig Racing #31 team was penalized for the same infraction as Hendrick. Crew chief Trent Owens was suspended for four races, fined $100,000, and cost Haley 100 driver and owner points plus 10 playoff points. The points penalty was later overturned on appeal, but the suspension and fine stood.
Aric Almirola: The #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Team was suspended for a loose wheel during the race. Two crew members were suspended for two races.
Denny Hamlin: Denny Hamlin publicly admitted to running into Ross Chastain intentionally during the final laps of the race. Hamlin was fined $50,000 and took a 25 point penalty. The penalty was appealed unsuccessfully.
Daniel Suarez: Daniel Suarez was penalized for contact on pit road with Alex Bowman following the race at COTA. Suarez was fined $50,000 for the incident.
Hendrick Motorsports: The Hendrick Motorsports #24 team for William Byron and #48 team for Alex Bowman were once again bopped for modifying a single source part. This time the penalties were crew chiefs suspended for two races with $75,000 fines for each, and the loss of 60 driver and owner points plus five playoff points.
Cody Ware: Cody Ware was arrested on an assault charge heading into the Bristol Dirt weekend. NASCAR suspended him indefinitely.
Austin Dillon: The Richard Childress Racing #3 team was penalized for an issue with the underwing. The ensuing penalty was a $75,000 fine plus the loss of 60 driver and owner points and five playoff points.
BJ McLeod: The LiveFast #78 team was penalized for a loose wheel during the Martinsville race. Two pit crew members were suspended as a result.
Overall, there have been 14 post race penalties handed out this season through 11 races with Dover results still pending. According to NBC Sports there were 27 post race penalties during the entire 2022 season, which works out to less than one penalty per race (0.75). Thus far in 2023, there has been more than one penalty averaged per race (1.27).
Penalties have been almost doubled based on penalties per race this season. Add to that the public nature of the appeals process this year means that penalties have been more in the forefront than last season. It is also worth noting that half of these penalties came from one race, so this pace should hopefully not be sustainable.
On February 17, Ubisoft released a trailer that confirmed that NASCAR would be included in The Crew Motorfest’s next season update. Details were limited at the time, but in a press release issued today, Ubisoft revealed the full details of the update ahead of its March 4 launch.
Ubisoft says drafting will affect car speed and help save fuel, implying that drafting will be a huge factor in the game, at least with these cars. You can check out this and much more on Ubisoft’s official post linked below
Earlier this Tuesday, the official The Crew Motorfest account clarified confusion around the NASCAR bundles. The Crew Credit (CC) bundles only include cosmetic team liveries, not additional cars. The 3 base Next Gen cars (Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Toyota Camry XSE, and Chevrolet ZL1) are part of the free Season 9 update and can be purchased separately.
Mitch Rasmussen, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Interactive, said in the press release:
We’re excited to bring our iconic brand to life in The Crew Motorfest. This collaboration represents another important step in our strategy to bring NASCAR into the digital spaces and places where next generation fans spend their time, giving players new ways to interact with the culture and communities they love.
The content arrives as part of Year 3 Season 9 and is officially licensed by NASCAR. You can watch the first trailer and learn more in the article linked below
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Four road courses on the schedule, and somehow that’s enough to spark one of the biggest debates in the garage. After recent comments from Brad Keselowski questioning the business value of road racing, the conversation has picked up serious steam. Is NASCAR leaning too far into it, or is the current balance about right?
There are valid points on both sides, from sponsorship realities to fan traditions to competitive diversity. Some tracks have gained traction. Others have struggled. The question isn’t just whether road courses belong, but how many make sense within a 36-race season. It’s less about extremes and more about direction. And with future schedule changes always looming, this debate probably isn’t settled anytime soon.
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Corey Day’s run-in with Connor Zilisch at Circuit of the Americas became one of the most discussed incidents from Saturday’s race, even drawing a response from Denny Hamlin as well, who this week talked about his support for Zilisch.
During the race, Zilisch dealt with brake trouble on his No. 1 Chevrolet but worked his way forward from the rear of the field, advancing from P29 to P4 in the closing laps. With five laps remaining, he engaged in a battle with Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day as they exited Turn 2, holding the outside line. But as they contested the position, Day moved up behind him, contact occurred, and Zilisch spun off course to finish the race in P21.
After the contact, frustrated, Connor Zilisch initially referred to Day as an “absolute hack” on his radio, describing the clash as part of the latter’s racing pattern. But the JR Motorsports driver later tempered his comments, simply saying he expects an apology from the young Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Given that Zilisch declined to escalate the situation, on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin credited him for calmly managing his response after the race, saying,
“Zillich was smart about this. He in his interview, he’s like, “I looked over at him thinking, come on over here. Come apologize.” And he said he just looked at him with a stare like, I don’t know what it is with these guys. Why, Why can’t they… youth?”
However, he questioned Day’s failure to issue an immediate apology. In fact, he said he was “floored” by Corey Day’s reaction, which involved staring at a frustrated Zilisch rather than apologizing.
The No. 11 JGR driver also raised questions about how Hendrick Motorsports evaluates developing drivers. Organizations invest with the expectation of returns measured in wins and titles, but when a driver continues to make visible mistakes, fans and especially other drivers will start to scrutinize. Hamlin pointed to the balance between development and production, asking how long it would hold.
The COTA incident was not the first time Day’s racing antics were questioned. Last week, during the Atlanta race, Day was involved in a multi-car crash on lap five after attempting a three-wide move that resulted in contact with Ryan Sieg. The move triggered a chain reaction that collected several cars.
Sieg responded over team radio, questioning both the decision and Day’s presence in the series.
Hamlin argued that drivers are allowed to make mistakes as part of growth. At teams with front-running equipment and title ambitions, time frames are shorter. But he questioned whether Day faces a deadline by season’s end or whether the assessment extends into the following year.
In Day’s case, results have not offset the incidents that have drawn attention. Hamlin referenced Kyle Larson as an example, noting that aggressive driving can lead to contact as well as wins.
Do you agree with Hamlin’s take? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
