NASCAR chief explains severity of Hendrick Motorsports penalty

A NASCAR official has offered a detailed insight as to why William Byron and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports crew were hit with a strict penalty at Daytona.

Ahead of last Saturday's regular season finale, Byron's team were hit with a quadruple punishment relating to pre-race technical inspection.

NASCAR handed out the following punishments to the No. 24 team as a result of their infringement, which was stricter than the penalties usually handed out when cars fail tech:

- Crew chief Rudy Fugle was ejected for the remainder of the race weekend
- The team lost their pit stall selection for Saturday's race
- The No. 24 was sent to the rear of the field ahead of the race start
- The No. 24 had to serve a stop-and-go penalty when the race went green

NASCAR HEADLINES: Hamlin addresses 23XI lawsuit distraction as driver set to miss multiple races

Hendrick Motorsports penalty explained

Speaking ahead of this weekend's action at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde has now explained why Hendrick Motorsports' penalty was harsher than it otherwise might be for technical inspection infractions.

Forde revealed that Byron's No. 24 Chevrolet had initially passed tech on its second attempt, but that NASCAR officials then spotted one of his crew members pushing down the splitters on the car.

After that was seen, NASCAR re-examined the vehicle, and the car subsequently failed technical inspection as a result of the unapproved adjustment.

Unapproved adjustments are a big no, and in an attempt to clamp down on cars failing pre-race inspection, NASCAR decided a strict penalty was necessary.

“We want fans to understand that every car here has been closely scrutinized and is on an even playing field,” Forde said, via NASCAR.com.

“So, when you make an adjustment with an official’s back turned, that’s going to be a bigger penalty than just if you fail a body measurement. You very rarely hear of a crew chief getting ejected; probably 90% of the time, it is the car chief.

"So, when you see the crew chief ejected, that is why. When you do something after inspection’s clear, we ramp it up.”

READ MORE: Michael Jordan delivers passionate speech as NASCAR legal battle turns ugly

Hendrick Motorsports didn't argue

Whilst such penalties cannot be appealed, Forde also revealed that Hendrick Motorsports had no complaints with the punishment they were given and that if anything, the team's executives were not happy with the No. 24 crew for bringing a bad light on Byron - who had just been crowned regular season champion.

“It was even the opposite,” Forde said, alluding to a discussion between NASCAR's senior vice president and Hendrick executives.

“I think the Hendrick brass themselves were not thrilled with their team on this one because it does draw attention to the regular season champion in a negative way.”

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series team 'evaluating options' for 2026 driver swap

Related