NASCAR assessed an L1-level penalty to the No. 17 RFK Racing team on Thursday following last weekend’s Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
During inspection this week at the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, series officials discovered that the No. 17 Ford was in violation of Sections 14.1.C (overall assembled vehicle rules) and 14.5.4.G (front bumper cover) of the NASCAR Rule Book. The team went over the maximum reinforcement allowed for its front bumper covers.
As a result, the team and driver Chris Buescher were each assessed with the loss of 60 championship points and five playoff points, and the team was fined $75,000. Additionally, crew chief Scott Graves has been suspended for the next two races through Charlotte.
The team released a statement on Friday stating that it was continuing to evaluate a potential appeal to the penalties assessed to the No. 17 Ford but decided that Graves would begin serving his suspension effective immediately. The team named Doug Randolph as the acting crew chief, beginning with All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
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Buescher drove the No. 17 Ford to an eighth-place finish in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, which was won by Kyle Larson. Before the penalty, Buescher was 12th in the point standings, but he dropped to 24th afterward.
Thursday’s penalty announcement also impacted the current Cup Series Playoffs standings, moving Buescher out of the provisional 16-driver field and jostling other drivers around the elimination line. Before the 60-point deduction, Buescher was 33 points above the line — he now drops to minus-27. Ryan Preece moves from minus-7 to +14 as the provisional 16th driver in the field, which nudges Kyle Busch to the last driver out at minus-7.
The Cup Series is at North Wilkesboro Speedway this weekend for Sunday’s All-Star Race (8 p.m. ET, FS1) before returning to points-paying action in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET, Prime Video).