NASCAR's 5 most expensive penalties of all time, Ranked

The world of competitive motorsports is infamous for having cut-throat rules and regulations. Drivers and teams often find themselves on the wrong side of that line. NASCAR is very well acquainted with this concept and are headstrong with their judgments against any violations of their rules.

Here's a list of NASCAR's five most expensive penalties:

1. Hendrick Motorsports ($400,000)

Hendricks Motorsports was fined a massive $400,000 during the practice at Phoenix Raceway in March 2023. This was a record-breaking amount, one for the history books of NASCAR. All four Hendricks cars were found to have hood louvers (air vents) that were in direct violation of the regulations behind the modification of single-source parts.

Each of its four crew chiefs was fined $100,000 along with four race suspensions. The drivers were subject to a deduction of 100 regular-season points and 10 playoff points each. Hendricks Motorsports appealed the deduction to the National Motorsports Appeal Panel, which then was overturned in favor of them.

2. Michael Waltrip Racing ($300,000)

Clint Bowyer, a driver for Michael Waltrip Racing had a dramatic spinout Federated Auto Parts 400 on September 7, 2013, at the Richmond International Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series. The spinout unfurled information which led to the closure of MWR. Bowyer was allegedly conspiring with his crew chief wherein he intentionally spun his car with less than 10 laps remaining to ensure fellow MWR driver, Martin Truex Jr., would make the playoffs. This would later be known as “Spingate”. MWR was fined a total of $300,000 and several other suspensions.

3. Charles Swing ($200,000)

NASCAR also levied a penalty of $200,000 on Charles Swing, crew chief for Carl Long, who was witnessed to have an oversized engine in the Sprint Showdown Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 16, 2009. The regulations stated that the size of the engine should not measure more than 358 cid, whereas the engine found in their Dodge was 358.19 cid. Charles Swing, Carl Long, and Danielle Long were all suspended from the next 12 NASCAR races, while also docking 200 driver and owner points.

4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($75,000)

NASCAR recently penalized Ricky Stenhouse Jr. a whopping $75,000 for punching fellow Cup Series driver Kyle Busch. This incident happened after the NASCAR All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina, on May 19, 2024. After the exhibition race ended, Stenhouse confronted Busch as he had bumped into him on lap 2, knocking him out of the race.

5. Kyle Busch ($50,000)

Additionally, Kyle Busch was fined $50,000 by NASCAR in a separate incident, for wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution at the WinStar World Casino 350K, in 2011. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was being held at the Texas Motor Speedway where Busch intentionally wrecked Hornaday, a championship contender. He was pulled off the track by NASCAR and further parked for the races on Saturday and Sunday, as a penalty.