Getty Erik Jones prepares for a race at Kansas Speedway.
The Appeals Panel has announced its decision regarding the L1-Level penalty issued to Legacy Motor Club. The three-person panel has decided to uphold the original penalty issued by NASCAR on June 4.
According to a press release, the members of the panel heard the case presented by Legacy Motor Club. They determined that the No. 43 team had indeed violated the NASCAR Rule Book, specifically, Section 14.1.C&D Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules and 14.1.2.B Engineering Change Log.
“The penalty was consistent with previously assessed penalties for similar situations,” the panel said as an explanation. “The rule book is clear that teams are not allowed to modify single-source parts, and therefore the penalty was upheld.”
As a result, Erik Jones will still lose 60 driver points and five playoff points while Legacy Motor Club will lose 60 owner points and five playoff points. Crew Chief Dave Elenz’s $75,000 fine and two-race suspension also remain.
The Penalties Followed a Trip to Illinois
GettyErik Jones (front) worked with a different crew chief at Sonoma Raceway.
Jones and his fellow Cup Series drivers took on World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 4, a race that Kyle Busch won after he led 121 laps. Jones finished 18th overall.
Shortly after the race came to an end, NASCAR announced that the No. 43 Chevrolet of Legacy Motor Club and the No. 38 Ford of Front Row Motorsports would both go back to the R&D Center for teardown inspection. This trip to the R&D Center is what led to officials discovering a modified greenhouse.
Legacy Motor Club did not initially announce that it would appeal the L1-Level penalty issued to the No. 43 team. Instead, the team said that it was working internally to “determine the course of action in response.”
Legacy MC later opted to appeal the penalty, but the team did move forward with Elenz serving one race of his suspension. He missed the trip to Sonoma Raceway while Danny Efland took over the No. 43 team. Elenz returned for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Efland will now return to the pit box for the inaugural Chicago Street Race as Elenz serves the second race of his suspension. The veteran will then be eligible to return for the trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Jones Remains in a Must-Win Situation
There are only nine races remaining before the start of the playoffs, and time is running out for Jones to potentially punch his ticket. He sits squarely in a must-win situation after the appeals panel upheld the penalty.
The two-time Southern 500 winner is currently 30th in the championship standings with 220 points. He is 133 points behind Daniel Suarez, who currently holds the final spot above the cutline.
This hurdle could only grow larger in the coming weeks. There have been 11 drivers that have won races during the 2023 Cup Series season, and there will potentially be more.
The next event on the schedule is a true wild card. A surprise winner could easily avoid the expected carnage and capture the win in the inaugural Chicago Street Race.
The rest of the regular season features some other events that could have unexpected winners. Atlanta Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway are both plate races with inevitable wrecks. Pocono Raceway could turn into a fuel-mileage race.
These events could drop Jones further below the cutline, or they could benefit him. He did finish fourth in the summer race at Atlanta in 2022, and he has a previous win at Daytona. All scenarios are on the table.