Will NASCAR penalize Hendrick Motorsports for using confiscated louvers at Phoenix?

Hendrick Motorsports had a dream outing last weekend with all four cars from the organization finishing in the top-10 during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

With William Byron taking a trip to Victory Lane along with 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson finishing in P4, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based racing outfit's worst result of the day was a P10 by Chase Elliott's replacement Josh Berry in the 312-mile-long race.

However, the weekend wasn't all plain sailing for Rick Hendrick's organization as NASCAR was seen confiscating the team's hood louvers after practice on Friday (March 10). With the suspicion of the legality of the louvers, which is a part that allows hot air to escape through the radiator duct coverings, the governing body took the concerned parts for a detailed analysis.

With the governing body instructing the ban on modifications of supplier-sourced parts common to all teams, it now needs to be seen if Hendrick Motorsports did or did not make changes to their parts. Jeff Gordon, Chairman of the team, elaborated on the topic and said:

"Every situation is sort of unique, but this is a more unique one than I've seen in a while where there's been a lot of communication back and forth on this particular part, especially for this racetrack because they did a parity test in the wind tunnel."

"I think it really opened up the door for some miscommunication. I don't want to go any further than that. We'll continue to just share all the facts and be transparent with NASCAR as we have been so far."

With the team's four drivers all finishing in the top-10 last Sunday (March 12), with one winning the race and another in the top-5 without the concerned louvers, it remains to be seen if the confiscated louvers were adding any performance benefits to the cars, if any.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin is certainly in the governing body's favor, as he elaborated on his podcast Actions Detrimental, saying:

"I think they're screwed."

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Kyle Larson speaks his mind on any probable penalties from NASCAR for Hendrick Motorsports

When asked about his knowledge on the topic of the concerned louvers confiscated by NASCAR, Kyle Larson gave a reply typical of a racing driver, and said:

"I don't know anything about a race car anyways so I had to ask what a louver was. I'm joking a little bit. Yeah, you worry about potential penalties, I guess. I don't know what was wrong with them. That's not part of my job. We'll see how (the) next week goes."

It remains to be seen if Hendrick Motorsports receives any penalties in the form of fines or points deductions from NASCAR.