NASCAR makes rule book changes in light of rescinded Hendrick Motorsports penalties

NASCAR's response to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel's rescinded penalty for Hendrick Motorsports came in the form of a tweak to the sport's official rule book.

In what has been a controversial exchange between the governing body, the appeals panel, and the Concord, North Carolina-based racing outfit, NASCAR has made sure future penalties to teams are withheld in accordance to their committed offenses.

The most significant change comes in the form of taking away the appeals panel's ability to "completely remove any element of the originally assessed Penalty." The changes have come into effect since Thursday (April 6) night this week, after what has been a controversial exchange regarding penalties between the governing body, Hendrick Motorsports, and the appeals panel.

The exact changes to section 11.10.2.C of the rule book are as follows:

“Appeals Panel may not completely remove any element of the originally assessed Penalty provided in the Penalty Notice as defined in Section 10.5.2 Determination of Penalties; modifications to a Penalty are limited to the minimum and maximum ranges, as listed in the Rule Book."

Section 11.20.1.C was also updated to read:

“The Final Appeals Officer may not completely remove any element of the originally assessed Penalty provided in the Penalty Notice as outlined in Section 10.5.2 Determination of Penalties; modifications to a Penalty are limited to the minimum and maximum ranges as listed in the Rule Book."

In addition to not allowing the National Motorsports Appeals Panel to completely take away parts of the penalty, NASCAR can also publish the panel's explanation for any decision that has taken place.

This will help bring a level of transparency between the governing body and fans of the sport, which has also been a hotly contensted topic over the past few weeks.

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NASCAR hands additional penalties to Hendrick Motorsports

NASCAR has handed Hendrick Motorsports additional L1-level penalties to the #48 and #24 crews of the team after their appearance at Richmond Raceway last weekend. Both teams have been stripped of 60 driver and owner points along with 5 playoff points in light of alterations made to their respective car greenhouses.

The greenhouse refers to the windshield, side window, and rear window profile of a Cup Series car. The governing body also aims to showcase the confiscated errant parts at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.

Catch drivers try and tame the dirt this Sunday (April 9) during the Food CIty Dirt Race, which goes live at 7:00 pm ET.