NASCAR has penalized the teams of Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman for an L1 engine violation.
NASCAR stated that both teams violated Section 20.6.1.e that states when the “long block (engine) is sealed, the engine must be used in the same vehicle number the next time it is used.
That was not the case last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
As a result, NASCAR has:
- Fined crew chiefs Alan Gustafson and Greg Ives $50,000 each
- Suspended from the next points race Hendrick GM Jeff Andrews and director of engine track support Scott Maxim
- Docked Elliott and Bowman 25 driver points each
- Penalized both team 25 car owner points each.
The points penalty drops Elliott one spot in the season standings. He falls from fifth to sixth. Joey Logano moves up to fifth. Alex Bowman remains 11th in the points despite the penalty.
Hendrick Motorsports issued a statement Thursday:
“Due to an administrative error, one of our sealed engines assigned to the No. 9 car was unintentionally allocated to our No. 48 team at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Although the engine passed technical inspection and absolutely no competitive advantage was gained, we acknowledge NASCAR’s process was not followed correctly in this instance. The rules regarding the assignment of sealed engines are clear, and we understand and respect their decision to issue a penalty. We apologize for the mistake and have taken steps to ensure it will not be repeated.”
The Cup Series is off until Aug. 8 at Watkins Glen International on NBCSN.
