Hendrick Motorsports had parts confiscated from all four cars on Friday
Update: Hendrick Motorsports wins appeal; Penalty reduced
On Friday, the NASCAR Cup Series unloaded for a round of practice at Phoenix Raceway. The field is preparing for Sunday’s race.
Phoenix TV Schedule: March 2023 (NASCAR)
NASCAR officials confiscated the hood louvers from all four Hendrick Motorsports machines. They’ll bring the parts to the NASCAR R&D Center for further evaluation.
The potential issue was discovered as teams went through the inspection line on Friday.
Teams rolled through inspection once more today. There doesn’t appear to be any issues, from any teams in the garage as all passed on the first or second attempt through the line.
The hood louvers are vents in the hood area of the cars. It transfers air out of the radiator. It’s designed to decouple engine performance from aero performance.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson was fastest in the opening round of practice.
New for this weekend, NASCAR has brought a low downforce package. The package will be used on most short tracks and all road courses in the 2023 season.
The new package has about 30% less downforce.
Any penalties would likely be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday. The team has declined to comment on the situation.
New NASCAR rules package to debut at Phoenix Raceway
NASCAR Cup Series
Hood Louvers
