Here’s how the latest NASCAR standings look like after Hendrick Motorsport’s points penalty was rescinded

Big news has hit the NASCAR fraternity as the sport prepares to head to Richmond Raceway for another weekend of close-quarters racing. The saga of the altered hood louvers, which saw Hendrick Motorsport and Kaulig Racing receive L2-level penalties from NASCAR, has run its course, atleast for Rick Hendrick and his racing outfit.

The National Motorsports Appeal Panel on Wednesday agreed to rescind the points deductions handed to the four crew and drivers. The $100,000 fine as well as crew chief suspensions, however, remain in place.

As a result, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman and William Byron will be reinstated for the initial points deductions. Chase Elliott's points will not be reinstated as he was not fined in the first place due to absence on medical grounds.

The rescinded penalty has also shaken up the drivers' standings table as Alex Bowman moves to the top spot from P16. William Byron also jumped from fifth to third place, followed by Kyle Larson in P9, up from P12. The complete driver standings table for the NASCAR Cup Series is as follows:

Rank	Driver	Points	Playoff Points
1	Alex Bowman	226	0
2	Ross Chastain	211	3
3	William Byron	197	14
4	Kyle Busch	192	5
5	Joey Logano	186	6
6	Kevin Harvick	186	0
7	Christopher Bell	184	0
8	Ryan Blaney	177	0
9	Kyle Larson	170	1
10	Austin Cindric	166	1
11	Martin Truex Jr.	165	0
12	Brad Keselowski	162	1
13	Tyler Reddick	161	6
14	Denny Hamlin	161	0
15	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	159	5
16	Chris Buescher	157	0
17	Daniel Suarez	144	0
18	Corey LaJoie	139	0
19	Michael McDowell	125	0
20	Ty Gibbs	118	0
21	Bubba Wallace	103	0
22	AJ Allmendinger	103	0
23	Erik Jones	99	0
24	Chase Briscoe	96	0
25	Todd Gilliland	95	0
26	Austin Dillon	93	0
27	Noah Gragson	86	0
28	Aric Almirola	70	0
29	Ryan Preece	69	0
30	Harrison Burton	66	0
31	Cody Ware	62	0
32	Chase Elliott	49	0
33	Ty Dillon	32	0
34	B.J. McLeod	27	0
35	Travis Pastrana	26	0
36	Jenson Button	19	0
37	Jordan Taylor	16	0
38	Jimmie Johnson	11	0
39	Kimi Raikkonen	8	0
40	Conor Daly	1	0
41	Josh Berry	0	0
42	Riley Herbst	0	0
43	Zane Smith	0	0
44	J.J. Yeley	0	0
45	Josh Bilicki	0	0
46	Austin Hill	0	0
47	Chandler Smith	0	0
48	Justin Haley	-7	-10

With Justin Haley and Kaulig Racing's points not being rescinded, the #31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver remains at the bottom of the table. He has -10 playoff points to his name, with -7 regular season points.

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NASCAR fines Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez for making intentional contact with other cars on pit road at COTA

Daniel Suarez's actions at the Circuit of the Americas have caught up with him over the week. Suarez, the driver of the #99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 fielded by Justin Marks, has been handed a $50,000 fine for bumping his teammates Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman on the cooldown lap on the way to pit road.

No points have been deducted for the infractions. The Mexican driver was seen livid behind the wheel of his car in the race after being spun out by Alex Bowman on one of the three overtime restarts, while being pushed by Chastain.

Suarez was also seen exchanging words with both drivers after he exited his car. NASCAR has been consistent in handling pit-road infractions since Ty Gibbs received two penalties last year for similar offenses.

Watch NASCAR go live from Richmond Raceway in Virginia this weekend for the Totota Owners 400.