What is the updated NASCAR standings after Denny Hamlin and other penalties?

NASCAR penalized Denny Hamlin for an on-track incident with Ross Chastain during Sunday's race in Phoenix. The driver received a $50,000 fine and a 25-driver points deduction.

Along with that, a raft of other penalties were announced for Hendrick Motorsports drivers and Justin Haley concerning the modification of hood louvers. Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Haley have all been docked 100 driver points. Hendrick Motorsports and Kaulig Racing have also received fines and penalties for their actions.

Hamlin, who previously occupied the seventh position, has dropped down to the 12th position after the deduction. Ross Chastain would be leading the standings if Hamlin hadn't taken him out at Phoenix. He currently trails Kevin Harvick by three points.

With five drivers receiving points deductions, the driver's standing has undergone a huge shuffle. Veteran driver Harvick leads the driver's standings, followed by Ross Chastain.

Christopher Bell, who had a solid start to the season, occupies the third position. Ryan Blaney and a resurgent Kyle Busch round off the top five.

Here is the complete pecking order ( * indicates race winners):

Position	Driver	Points
1	#4 Kevin Harvick	151
2	#1 Ross Chastain	148
3	#20 Christopher Bell	137
4	#12 Ryan Blaney	124
5	#8 Kyle Busch*	122
6	#19 Martin Truex Jr.	122
7	#99 Daniel Suarez	119
8	#22 Joey Logano	118
9	#6 Brad Keselowski	115
10	#17 Chris Buescher	112
11	#47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*	104
12	#11 Denny Hamlin	100
13	#23 Bubba Wallace	92
14	#2 Austin Cindric	81
15	#7 Corey LaJoie	79
16	#34 Michael McDowell	76
17	#45 Tyler Reddick	72
18	#16 AJ Allmendinger	71
19	#4 Austin Dillon	63
20	#54 Ty Gibbs	62
21	#14 Chase Briscoe	59
22	#10 Aric Almirola	56
23	#48 Alex Bowman	54
24	#41 Ryan Preece	54
25	#43 Erik Jones	53
26	#9 Chase Elliott	49
27	#21 Harrison Burton	48
28	#15 Todd Gilliland	46
29	#24 William Byron*	44
30	#42 Noah Gragson	43
31	#51 Cody Ware	38
32	#5 Kyle Larson	37
33	#67 Travis Pastrana	26
34	#78 BJ McLoed	26
35	#77 Ty Dillon	17
36	#84 Jimmie Johnson	10
44	#31 Justin Haley	-40

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Why did NASCAR penalize Denny Hamlin?

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin openly admitted on his podcast 'Actions Detrimental' to having taken out Ross Chastain at the final restart in the previous race. Hamlin and Chastain, running in the top ten positions, finished 23rd and 24th respectively after the incident.

The two drivers have a history of colliding with and bumping into each other since the previous season. Since an incident in June, the two drivers have had several run-ins, notably at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Pocono Raceway. The duo also bumped into each other at the pre-season event where Chastain spun Hamlin.

Hamlin admitted:

"It wasn't a mistake. I let the wheel go and I said he's coming with me."

The officials then decided to intervene by docking 25 driver points and levying a fine of $50,000. The governing body stated that the #11 driver had violated Section 4.4 of the NASCAR rulebook.

NASCAR mentioned the following sections while stating the penalties:

Sections 4.4: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct

B. - Attempting to manipulate the outcome of the Race or championship. - Wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result

D. - Actions by a NASCAR Member that NASCAR finds to be detrimental to stock car racing or NASCAR.

Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competitions, initially viewed the contact as a racing incident. He further revealed that Hamlin's confession on the podcast instigated action to be taken.

He said:

"We think that's great to interact with the fans. But when you start admitting that you have intentionally done something that would compromise the results of the end of the race, then that rises to a level that we're going to get involved."

"There's no other way to look at that. We were going to get involved in that situation. We've been consistent in the past with that and we will be consistent going forward."

Hamlin announced via social media that he won't be appealing the penalties.