Hendrick will not appeal post-Texas penalties

Kenny Francis, crew chief of the No. 5 team, and Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 24 team, have each been fined $50,000 and placed on NASCAR probation through the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points races. Both crew chiefs were found to be in violation of Section 9-4A: Crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members, Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing and Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty.

In addition, Jeremy Fuller, a crew member with the No. 5 team along with Dwayne Doucette and Jason Ingle, crew members with the No. 24 team, each have been fined $25,000 and suspended from NASCAR through the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points races. Dean Mozingo, a crew member with the No. 24 team, has been fined $10,000 and suspended from NASCAR through the completion of the next three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points races. They were found to be in violation of Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing and Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty – involved in a post-race physical altercation with another crew member on pit road.

"With NASCAR's new Chase format, we're seeing an unprecedented level of intensity every single week," said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports in a team release. "Emotions run high when you're racing for a championship, and that's exciting for our fans and everyone involved with the sport. But there's a line the competitors need to be cognizant of, and we understand that.



"Jeff (Gordon) was rightfully fired up Sunday night, and it just reiterated to me how passionate he is and how much he wants to win. The No. 24 team is a group that works together and is loyal to one another. They have our full support as we go into these final two races."

In a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Doug Duchardt said that the organization will be paying the fines, which totaled $185,000.

"We will as a team incur that and we won't put that on the crew members," Duchardt said. "We just have to pay the penalties and move on and hopefully we won't find ourselves in that situation again."

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