The National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday amended the September penalty to NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron for his intentional contact to Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway, which sent the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver spinning into the infield and out of the top five
Byron, a two-time 2022 winner in the No. 24 Chevrolet, will now be issued a $100,000 fine with no championship points deduction. He was initially docked 25 driver points and 25 owner points along with a $50,000 fine as a result of violating Sections 4.3.A & 4.4.C of the NASCAR Rule Book, which pertain to the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct.
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Section 4.4.C states that member actions that can result in a loss of 25-50 driver and team owner points and/or $50,0000-$100,000 fine and/or suspension includes “intentionally wrecking another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result” and “any actions deemed to compromise the safety of an Event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of Competitors, Officials, spectators, or others.”
The points portion of the initial penalty would have left Byron 10th in the playoff standings and 11 points beneath the elimination line. Instead, he returns to the playoff-advancing side of the bubble heading into Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 Round of 12 elimination race (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR). Byron now sits in seventh place, 14 points to the good.
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Daniel Suárez is now right on the good side of the bubble at +12 and in eighth place. Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric, who are tied in points and were initially on the elimination line together, now both sit 12 points back.
Eight drivers will advance to the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs following Sunday’s race, while four are eliminated from championship contention.
The members of the Appeals Board for the hearing were Hunter Nickell, Dale Pinilis and Kevin Whitaker.