All you need to know about the latest NASCAR penalty to Hendrick drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman

Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and William Byron have been penalized over violations found in the post-race inspection at NASCAR's R&D Centre in North Carolina following the Richmond round.

The two teams have been docked 60 points and five playoff points, while their interim crew chiefs were suspended for two races and were each fined $75,000 over illegal modifications to the greenhouse (the center section of the car).

Due to the late notice, the suspensions issued to interim crew chiefs Greg Ives (Bowman) and Brian Campe (Byron) will not be effective until next week. This makes the suspensions relatively insignificant, given that their roles as interim crew chiefs are set to end with the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race on Sunday.

Bowman tumbled from first to seventh in the Cup regular-season standings as a result of the points penalties, while Byron, the only driver with two Cup wins this year, fell from fourth to fourteenth. Bowman finished eighth at Richmond on Sunday, while Byron led a race-high 117 laps before dropping to 24th.

It was the second penalty in four weeks for the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, who had 100-point penalties (and 10 playoff point penalties) rescinded last week by an appeals board, which upheld $100,000 fines and four-race suspensions for modifying radiator exit duct covers (louvers) last month in Phoenix.

Following two appeals judgments on Wednesday and Thursday, NASCAR was certain to feel vindicated. A different three-member appeals panel Wednesday reduced a 100-point penalty to 75 points and upheld the penalty of 10 playoff points imposed on Kaulig Racing driver Justin Haley, as well as the $100,000 fine and four-race suspension imposed on crew chief Trent Owens for violating the same rule as the Hendrick cars in Phoenix.

Hendrick Motorsports did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would appeal the fines on Bowman and Byron.

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Why did NASCAR chose Hendricks Motorsports for inspection ?

NASCAR may check any car after a race and often transports cars to its R&D facility for a more thorough breakdown. These cars are commonly referred to as "randoms" since they are occasionally chosen at random, but they do not have to be.

Since the Hendrick cars of Kyle Larson and Josh Berry finished first and second at Richmond, their cars underwent a partial disassembly at the track. These vehicles are often not subjected to additional examinations because they have previously undergone a pretty comprehensive inspection.

NASCAR chose to transport Bowman and Byron's Hendrick vehicles to North Carolina. It didn't take any others (it usually takes one or two, maybe more), which could be interpreted as a tactic to tease HMS after the appeals board dealt NASCAR a huge blow last week.

NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O'Donnell stated that pulling the Hendrick cars after Richmond was not a deliberate attempt to attack the team.