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NASCAR officially has a big, big problem on its hands.
And, truthfully, it wasn’t even their fault this time around.
But ultimately, they’re the ones who will be left trying to find a way to clean up the mess.
It all began two weeks ago when the series brought the hammer down on powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports for a rules violation.
Hendrick, which has won a record 14 NASCAR Cup Series championships, was deemed to have modified stock parts on their cars and was hit with the full force of NASCAR’s might. The series fined and suspended the crew chiefs for all Hendrick teams. But more importantly, it took 100 points away from all four Hendrick teams and took 10 all-important playoff points away from drivers Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman.
Meanwhile, Kaulig Racing, which is in just its second season in the cup series, received the same penalty for the same violation.
Hendrick eventually appealed the penalty. The team argued that the parts, which NASCAR distributes, were improperly made. Ultimately, the appeal board ruled that the team did violate the rule. But it still rolled back the penalty, removing the points aspect and just leaving the fines and suspensions.
Most assumed Kaulig was then in the clear. But that was not the case.
NEWS: The National Motorsports Appeals Panel rules to uphold the L2 penalty issued to the No. 31 of Kaulig Racing.
The $100,00 fine and four-race crew chief suspension stand. The team's Driver and Owner points have been amended to a loss of 75 points. pic.twitter.com/WudjgKKJHm
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 5, 2023
Instead, Kaulig only received a slightly reduced penalty, with the points dropping from 100 to 75. Fans were furious, claiming that is showed a clear bias in the appeals process.
This is maybe the darkest day for NASCAR since 2001. How can you give the top organization ALL their points back for admitting to modifying a spec part but not do the same for a midpack team that only had ONE of the louvers that wasn’t legal when it was probably a defective part? https://t.co/ui5RASahqU
— Emil Borchert (@EmilBorchert) April 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/BrianCooper_14/status/1643735859949355008
https://twitter.com/BrianCooper_14/status/1643735859949355008
https://twitter.com/BrianCooper_14/status/1643735859949355008
Wow I don’t think anyone can explain this to me but please try. Things that make you scratch your head. #NASCAR75 #penalty https://t.co/pbR2QZ2xZk
— Jonathan “Tig” Willard (@46Tigger) April 5, 2023
Notably, the three panelists who heard the Hendrick appeal were not the same for Kaulig. But you’d think that some sort of precedent would apply here.
Hendrick also came out on top in a similar situation last year regarding Byron and a penalty in the playoffs.
What NASCAR does next is anyone’s guess. But it’s clear it has a problem on its hands and its rule book now has very little weight behind it.