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NASCAR Conspiracy Emerges After Hendrick Motorsports Allegedly Exploited Loophole to Escape Penalty from Denny Hamlin-William Byron Fallout

Published 10/08/2022, 5:30 AM EDT

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William Byron is safe! The #24 driver recently won the appeal against NASCAR and its 25-point penalty. And with the sentence reversed, Byron has now reached the 7th position in the points table. But what now?

At the Texas Motor Speedway race in September, William Byron intentionally bumped the rear of Denny Hamlin’s car while the race was under caution. And this sent Hamlin’s car spinning out on the grass. However, no action against Byron was taken during the race.

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In fact, NASCAR’s senior vice president of the competition department said that they did not notice the incident. He explained that they were too busy ascertaining the cause of the caution and did not see what was going on between Hamlin and Byron. Due to this, Byron continued to race, without any repercussions.

However, soon, other drivers and fans called out NASCAR for the unfair decision. And a few days later, NASCAR levied a 25-point penalty on Byron as well as Hendrick Motorsports. Moreover, a $50,000 fine was also issued. However, Hendrick Motorsports appealed against it, and on Thursday, National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the penalty.

But Byron has now been issued a $100,000 fine without any point deduction. And this incident forced NASCAR to reconsider the rules. Recently, NASCAR updated its rulebook language to accommodate the words “or spinning” in addition to “intentionally wrecking.” However, fans didn’t seem to like these new updates.

Bubba Wallace’s Spotter Freddie Kraft Urges NASCAR To Give the Kyle Busch Treatment to Hendrick Motorsports Driver William Byron

NASCAR cannot appeal against the decision ruled out by the panel. The Appeals Board, consisting of Hunter Nickell, Dale Pinilis, and Kevin Whitaker did not reveal the reasons behind the decision. But this reversal has certainly changed a lot of things for Byron and other drivers.

How did William Byron’s penalty reversal affect NASCAR playoff standings?

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NASCAR had charged William Byron with a 25-point penalty. However, now, due to the reversal of the fine, he has climbed up to the seventh position in the points table. With 14 playoff points, Byron is followed by Daniel Suarez in the eighth position.

To qualify for the Round of 8, it’s necessary for the drivers to not slip below the eighth position. Currently, Chase Elliott has already secured himself a place in the Round of 8. With his win at Talladega, Elliott’s playoff points have reached a total of 46. The Roval will host the next playoff race this weekend.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Team Owner Joe Gibbs Vows to Confront NASCAR Over Kyle Busch Sanctions in Richmond

Roval is one of the most unpredictable race tracks. Moreover, the race there will be the series cutoff race. Marking the last race of the Round of 12, the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course race will decide who will make it to the next round.

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Written by:

Devyani Sharma

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Devyani Sharma is a NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports. Having completed her postgrad in English Literature, she has worked as a content writer for a while now. With over three years of experience in the field and hundreds of articles published on the web, Devyani has now associated with EssentiallySports to start her journey in the world of sports journalism.
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Edited by:

Nizamul Haque Bhuyan