NASCAR Next Gen car - Daytona Garage (Photo: Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media)
NASCAR penalty system updated with possible $500k fine
Shane Walters
As NASCAR rolls out it’s new spec chassis, the possible penalties for violations are far more strict
For 2022, the entire game will change. NASCAR will roll out the Next Gen car. It’s a spec chassis, designed to keep the costs down and the playing field level.
View the 2022 NASCAR penalty levels below.
That’s a stark contrast frok years prior. Previously, teams would develop their own cars and parts, around the rules NASCAR gave them. Each team would then push every limit of each line within the rule book.
The mindset of the teams remains the same, they’ll want to push boundaries. However, NASCAR has issued a major penalty level update, informing teams not to do so.
The last major update to the NASCAR penalty system dates back to 2017. In 2019, disqualifications were added as a possible penalty for an L1 or L2 violation.
“To make sure that all of those things stay above board, there’s going to have to be a culture shift from the way that the teams and NASCAR, for that matter, have done business,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition.
“So this deterrence model has more meat in it, more meaningful penalties, but I think we all thought that it was it was time for this with the introduction of the new car.”
O’Donnell added, “It used to be ‘let’s see what we can get away with and go racing.’ That’s not the case with this car. We’ve built this car to try and make it as fundamentally sound as possible in collaboration with the teams and then really put it on teams, and drivers and pit crews to go out there and win races.”
Scott Miller comments
Scott Miller says that teams asked for changes.
“If there aren’t penalties for altering parts and pieces on the new car, then the business model with new car won’t work,” Miller said.
“So it was definitely something that was pressed for hard by the teams, and we’re doing our due diligence for establishing all the inspection procedures and all the different things. The rule book is a completely new rule book with lots more specifics than there were in the past.”
“If a regular-season violation has playoff ramifications to it,” Miller added, “obviously I think the teams will take that much more seriously than they ever did points with the current playoffs and playoff-point format that we have.”