William Byron was penalized for wrecking Denny Hamlin under caution
William Byron and Denny Hamlin were racing for 2nd at Texas Motor Speedway. They fought for space off turn two and Byron ended up in the outside wall.
Just a few laps later, race leader Martin Truex Jr ended up in the wall with a flat tire. The caution came out for the incident.
William Byron vs Denny Hamlin (Video)
Under the yellow, Byron was still in the gas off turn four. He drove into the rear bumper of Hamlin and spun him through the infield grass.
NASCAR did not react to the incident during the race. They noted that they were unable to review the incident before the race went back into green flag conditions.
After the race, NASCAR threw the rulebook at the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 team.
Penalty: #24-William Byron
Sections: 4.3.A & 4.4.C: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct
Penalty Level: Behavioral
Notes: Vehicle contact during a caution period.
Penalty: Driver (William Byron) has been fined $50,000. Team has been assessed with the loss of 25 driver points and 25 owner points.
NASCAR issues $125,000 in fines to Byron, Gibbs after Texas
Appeal Successful
Hendrick Motorsports elected to appeal the penalty. On Thursday, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel heard their case. And they have modified the penalty.
The points penalty has been removed. However, the financial fine has been doubled.
The decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:
-That the Appellants violated the Rule(s) set forth in the Penalty Notice.
-That the Panel amends the original penalty assessed by NASCAR to read: $100,000 fine for William Byron and no loss of NASCAR Cup Series Championship Team Owner or Driver points.
The Appeals Panel members for this hearing:
Hunter Nickell
Dale Pinilis
Kevin Whitaker
The team has the option to send an additional appeal to the Final Appeals Officer. However, that’s not likely.
William Byron vs Denny Hamlin (Video)
Updated NASCAR Point Standings
Pos | Driver | Wins (In Round) | Points to Cut
1. Chase Elliott
1 Win
2. Ryan Blaney
+32
3. Ross Chastain
+28
4. Denny Hamlin
+21
5. Joey Logano
+18
6. Kyle Larson
+18
7. William Byron
+14
8. Daniel Suarez
+12
— Round of 8 Cutline —
9. Chase Briscoe
-12
10. Austin Cindric
-12
11. Christopher Bell
-33
12. Alex Bowman
-54
Kyle Larson wants Texas Motor Speedway demolished; Short track
Links
Denny Hamlin | William Byron | Texas Motor Speedway | NASCAR
