NASCAR penalize Hendrick Motorsports the biggest combined fine to a team in history

NASCAR announced severe penalties for Hendrick Motorsports on Wednesday (March 15) after evaluating the hood louvers confiscated from the team's four cars in Phoenix.

NASCAR docked 100 points from Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, and William Byron and also penalized the drivers with 10 playoff points each. Crew Chiefs for the four entries Cliff Daniels, Alan Gustafson, Rudy Fugle, and Blake Harris have been suspended for four races. They have also received a $100,000 fine each.

Senior journalist Bob Pockrass announced via Twitter:

The governing body has penalized each of the four Hendrick team entries for 100 owner points and 10 playoff points.

Pockrass further added that the penalty was one of the biggest in stock car racing history with a combined $400,000 fine. Chase Elliott didn't earn any penalty points as he was not racing on the weekend, and substitute driver Josh Berry didn't receive any penalty as he is a part-time driver.

The hood louvers/air vents from all four Hendrick cars were confiscated after Friday’s practice at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick cars were allowed to run the session but officials later confiscated the parts later, suspecting the team had modified single-source vendor parts.

The penalties were increased for modification of these parts the previous year. Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's chief operating officer, stated in January 2022, concerning the modification of these parts:

"The car was a collaborative project, designed to emphasize performance at the track and the unrivaled abilities of our teams, drivers, and pit crews, There will be strong penalties for any teams who run contrary to that design so the fans can focus on our drivers and the great racing expected from NASCAR."

Hendrick Motorsports drivers had a significant performance advantage in the practice session, where the team seemed to have aced the new aero package.

With the penalties to the drivers, they will have to put in a monumental effort to make up for the points loss.

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NASCAR announced penalties for Justin Haley and Denny Hamlin

NASCAR also announced penalties for Justin Haley and Denny Hamlin, the latter receiving a penalty due to his on-track shenanigans with Ross Chastain.

The officials also confiscated the hood louver of the #31 car of Kaulig Racing on Saturday. The same penalties have been issued after the team had modified the hood louver.

The governing body has docked Haley 100 points and 10 playoff points. Crew Chief Trent Owens received a four-race suspension and an additional $100,00 fine. The team has been penalized with 100 car owner points and 10 playoff points.

Denny Hamlin received a $50,000 fine and 25 driver points after admitting to having intentionally wrecked Ross Chastain's car.

Hamlin has been punished for 'behavioral' purposes which include manipulating the outcome of the race, wrecking another vehicle, and 'actions detrimental to stock car racing or NASCAR'.