RFK Racing announced Monday it will appeal the L1-level penalty issued to the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford following the May 11 NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
Following further inspection at NASCAR’s Research and Development Center, officials ruled the No. 17 Ford that driver Chris Buescher drove to an eighth-place finish violated Sections 14.1.C and 14.5.4.G in the NASCAR Rule Book, regarding overall assembled vehicle rules and the front bumper cover, respectively.
MORE: Details on No. 17 penalty | More info on ‘Hauler Talk’
As a result, Buescher and the team were respectively docked 60 driver and owner points, five playoff points and the team was fined $75,000. Additionally, crew chief Scott Graves was suspended for two events. Graves voluntarily served the first race of his suspension last weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race and will continue to sit out the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6 p.m. ET, Prime Video, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“After a thorough review of the penalties issued to the No. 17 Ford Mustang, RFK Racing has decided to appeal NASCAR’s decision,” RFK Racing said in a statement posted to its social media accounts Monday. “We respect NASCAR’s commitment to fair competition and appreciate the opportunity to engage in the appeals process.”
Before the penalty, Buescher was scored 14th in the provisional playoff standings, 33 points above the elimination line. After the 60-point penalty, Buescher fell to 24th in the provisional postseason picture, 27 points beneath the line to advance.