NASCAR defends decision to spare Joe Gibbs & Rick Hendrick teams from penalties as Bubba Wallace’s & Co. faces steep fines

The NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Martinsville was not shy of controversy, as there was a moment of drama involving Bubba Wallace and others. NASCAR reviewed the allegations made by several notable names in the sport about Chevrolet and Toyota's attempt to manipulate the result of the Xfinity 500 playoff race. Recently, NASCAR imposed huge penalties on the parties involved in the race but they decided not to penalize Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.

The Xfinity 500 was the final race that would decide the contenders of the Championship 4. As the end of the race inched closer, Trackhouse driver Ross Chastain(#1 Chevy), along with Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon(#3 Chevy) allegedly boxed RFK driver Brad Keselowski toward the inside line to stop him from moving up the field. Moreover, the Chevy drivers reportedly maintained their track positions to help a struggling William Byron bring a Chevy into the mix at Phoenix.

Moreover, 23XI Racing driver of the #23 Toyota Bubba Wallace, slowed down significantly in the final stage of the race, allegedly allowing JGR driver Christopher Bell to gain a few track positions and secure a spot in the Championship 4. However, the JGR driver could not make it.

Despite their involvement in the reported race manipulation, NASCAR decided to spare Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports from any penalties. Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass recently shared the update(via X, formerly Twitter)

"Elton Sawyer said there was no evidence (such as radio evidence) that they felt would warrant any penalties to Byron's team for the race manipulation or anything addition to Bell beyond the safety violation he already received," Pockrass wrote

Meanwhile, Trackhouse's #1 team, Richard Childress Racing's #3 team, and 23XI Racing's #23 team were sanctioned heavy penalties for violating sections 4.4.B&D: NASCAR Member Conduct of the Rule Book, which includes race manipulation and actions detrimental to stock car racing.

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"We want to get our point across": NASCAR VP comments on sanctioned penalties amid Martinsville final lap controversy

NASCAR's Senior Vice President of Competition Elon Sawyer recently expressed his views on the decision made by the sanctioning body to penalize the three teams that reportedly tried to change the natural outcome of the Xfinity 500 playoff race.

Trackhouse's Ross Chastain, Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon, and 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace were each sanctioned a $100,000 penalty and a 50-point deduction from the driver standings. Team owners were also sanctioned the same penalty, with 50 owner points being deducted. Moreover, the crew chiefs and the spotters of the teams involved were suspended for the Championship Race.

Following the announcement of the penalties, NASCAR VP of Competition Elton Sawyer commented on the decision(via NASCAR).

"We took and looked at the most recent penalty that we had written for an infraction, very similar, which was the 41 car a couple of years ago at the Roval,” Sawyer said.

“We felt like we wanted to ramp this one up and we did, we did that in a way that we included team leadership. And this one, something that we feel like that, you know, we want to get our point across that it’s a responsibility of all of us, the team owners, the team leadership as well as ourselves here at NASCAR to uphold the integrity of our sport." he added

The Championship race is scheduled to be held at Phoenix Raceway on November 10 at 3:00 PM ET. Catch the race live on NBC Sports, MRN, and SiriusXM