“Doesn’t look very random does it?”: William Byron takes a lethal jibe at NASCAR after HMS driver received a penalty this week

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron took a lethal jibe against NASCAR in an interview at Bristol Motor Speedway. Speaking to the media, Byron expressed his frustration after receiving penalties for the second time this season.

William Byron rarely expresses his displeasure publicly, but the 25-year-old didn't hold back speaking about the latest penalties for the #24 team. Byron wasn't pleased after his car was randomly chosen for inspection and taken to the R&D center for further evaluation.

On being questioned if he believed the inspection was random, he said:

"It doesn’t look very random, does it?"

He further added:

"I feel like they could take all the cars to the R&D Center. I don’t understand it. I’m not happy."

NASCAR took Byron and teammate Alex Bowman's cars to its R&D center in Concord, North Carolina. Race winner Kyle Larson and runner-up Josh Berry's cars underwent a rigorous inspection in Richmond and were cleared without any issues.

NASCAR discovered an infraction in #24 and #48 cars and penalized both teams. Byron and Bowman received 60 points penalties and five playoff points penalties. Interim crew chiefs of the teams were fined $75,000 and suspended for two races each.

William Byron and Alex Bowman in the NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400

Byron doesn't consider the multiple penalties a stain against his team, as he is focusing on the positive start to the season. The #24 driver won two races prior to the penalties issued to the team in Phoenix a month ago.

He added about the penalties:

"It’s not a stain for us. We don’t really look outside our team. Our team has been great this year and we’ll keep it going."

After receiving the penalty, William Byron dropped from fourth to 14th in the drivers' standings.

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NASCAR left unhappy after Hendrick Motorsports win the appeal

Hendrick Motorsports appealed against the penalties they received after the race in Phoenix. A three-member Appeals panel reversed the 100-point penalties to four entries from the team.

NASCAR released a statement where it expressed its discontent over the reversal of the penalties. The statement read:

"We are pleased that the National Motorsports Appeals Panel agreed that Hendrick Motorsports violated the rule book. However, we are disappointed that the entirety of the penalty was not upheld."

It continued:

"A points penalty is a strong deterrent that is necessary to govern the garage following rule book violations, and we believe that it was an important part of the penalty in this case and moving forward. We will continue to inspect and officiate the NASCAR garage at the highest level of scrutiny to ensure a fair and level playing field for our fans and the entire garage."

William Byron's latest comments might be in response to a statement released by the governing body a week ago.