Getty NASCAR has issued massive penalties to the No. 4 team of Stewart-Haas Racing.
NASCAR announced on October 2 that the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang would head to the R&D Center for further evaluation. Three days later, the sanctioning body issued massive penalties to the team and Kevin Harvick.
NASCAR announced the news on October 5 with its weekly penalty report. According to the information provided, the No. 4 Ford Mustang violated Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body) of the NASCAR Rule Book. The note said that the L2-Level penalty was due to the modification of a single-source part.
NEWS: NASCAR issues a deduction of 100 owner points and 100 driver points to the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team for modifying a single source supplied part.
Crew chief Rodney Childers has been fined $100,000 and suspended for the next four races.
This L2-Level penalty resulted in the loss of 100 driver points and 100 owner points. Additionally, crew chief Rodney Childers received a $100,000 fine and a four-race suspension. He will not be eligible to return to the track until the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
NASCAR officials also took Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Toyota Camry TRD back to the R&D Center for further evaluation. They did not find announce any penalties for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Harvick & Childers Had Some Reactions
GettyKevin Harvick responded to the penalties.
There were numerous responses to the penalties on social media in the immediate aftermath of the announcement. Two of the shortest belonged to Harvick and Childers.
The crew chief of the No. 4 team retweeted the penalty graphic and simply wrote “Shocker…..” Harvick did not specifically reference the penalty, but he tweeted out “Seems strange…” around the same time that NASCAR announced the news.
Harvick and Childers have been two of the most vocal people in the garage throughout the 2022 season. They have talked about the quality of parts in the Next Gen car numerous times, especially in the wake of unexpected fires that ruined multiple stock cars.
Harvick specifically took time prior to the playoff race at Kansas Speedway to hold court with media members for just under 15 minutes. He explained why he has been so vocal about the Next Gen car, and he called for an independent panel to help implement safety changes in a timely manner.
“Why does the foam melt? Do we know those answers?” Harvick asked during his availability. “They’re not as fire retardant as they should be. The only reason I stopped [at Darlington] is because the flames were coming inside the freaking car. Because this used to all be steel right there. And you look at the foam, all the foam, it looks like a marshmallow.
“So, you know, I think now it’s all coated with the coating that we presented two months ago. That doesn’t catch on fire on the right side of the car. Like I say things have progressed. And we are here today. But it can’t be that slow. There’s just no reason. It is not fair to the drivers to be compromised like we are right now and not have at least a progress plan. And it’s not just a rear clip. It’s a front clip, a rear clip, side, every hit hurts.”
NASCAR Announced Another Penalty in a Separate Series
There were only two penalties announced in the weekly report. The first and biggest went to the No. 4 team of Stewart-Haas Racing. The second will have an effect on a team in the Camping World Truck Series.
NASCAR announced that crew chief Andrew Abbott had received an indefinite suspension for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.3.A and 4.4). The notes stated that “completion of NASCAR-mandated anger management training is a pre-requisite to reinstatement.”
Abbott is a crew chief for the No. 20 team at Young’s Motorsports. He has worked with a variety of drivers during the 2022 season, such as Austin Dillon, Stefan Parsons, Joey Gase, Jesse Little, and Sheldon Creed among others.