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The sanctioning body has updated its Rule Book ahead of an appeal by Stewart-Haas Racing. NASCAR has allowed more officials to present its side of the argument to the panel.
The NASCAR Rule Book is not available to the general public, but media members with access reported on the update to Section 11.8-D. The previous version of the rule only listed one NASCAR official. Now the new verbiage states that “NASCAR Official(s) who will present NASCAR’s side of the appeal, as approved by the Appeal Administrator.”
Additionally, the update has extra words regarding the parties that received the penalty. It states that the persons named in the penalty report “and/or” one representative of the organization may be in the hearing room based on approval by the Appeal Administrator.
The Changes Follow Multiple Teams Winning Appeals
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GettyNASCAR officials look on during pre-race inspection.
NASCAR and its officials don’t want to see their penalties overturned. Heavy spoke with anonymous members of this group during the race weekend at Kansas Speedway, and they explained that they put considerable effort into making sure that every detail is covered in case of an appeal.
The 2022 season has seen multiple teams either win appeals outright or walk away with an altered penalty. Two examples are Jeremy Clements and William Byron.
The driver of the No. 51 Xfinity Series car lost his playoff spot after the No. 51 underwent a teardown inspection. Jeremy Clements Racing appealed and won, which put Clements back in the playoffs.
Byron, for comparison, lost 25 driver points and 25 owner points after spinning Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway, and he fell below the Round of Eight cutline.
Hendrick Motorsports appealed, which led to the panel giving back the points. Byron had to pay an increased fine, but he had enough points to survive at the Charlotte Roval and move on to the Round of Eight.
This Change Takes Place Before a Very Important Appeal
Why would NASCAR make this change to the Rule Book now instead of waiting until the end of the season? One potential reason is that there will be a very important appeal taking place in the coming days.
The sanctioning body threw the proverbial book at Cole Custer and the No. 41 team of Stewart-Haas Racing after the trip to the Charlotte Roval. They conducted an investigation into a final lap in which Custer slowed down entering the rear chicane and blocked multiple drivers while teammate Chase Briscoe gained extra spots.
The penalty included the loss of 50 driver points and 50 owner points, as well as a $100,000 fine for Custer. Crew chief Michael Shiplett received a $100,000 fine and an indefinite suspension.
Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, told media members that the data and radio chatter from Shiplett “was pretty telling to what went on there.” He added that nothing contradicted the fact that that was done deliberately by those individuals” in reference to trying to manipulate the outcome of the race.
Stewart-Haas Racing disagreed with the penalty, and the team made that point clear on October 12 when it announced the decision to appeal.
“Stewart-Haas Racing denies any wrongdoing and will vigorously defend its personnel against these allegations in its appeal with NASCAR,” the team said in a statement on Twitter.
NASCAR hasn’t set the date for this appeal, but the situation will change with the updates to the Rule Book. There will now potentially be more officials in the room presenting their side of the argument regarding Custer and the No. 41 team.
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