NASCAR rolls into Richmond this week after a hectic race at COTA, and the standings have been shaken up again with another penalty update.
As if last weekend’s race at COTA didn’t provide enough drama, ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond the points standings got another shakeup after changes were made to the penalties issued to all four Hendrick Motorsports teams and drivers.
On March 15, after discovering illegally modified hood louvers on their cars, all Hendrick teams were docked 100 owner and driver points, as well as 10 playoff points. This was on top of four-race suspensions and $100,000 fines for all four crew chiefs of the Hendrick cars. The team appealed the penalties, and an appeals panel has amended the penalties that were handed down by NASCAR.
The crew chief suspensions and fines remain, but the appeals panel rescinded the points penalties handed down to the drivers, meaning that the points they lost will be reinstated and they’ll jump back up the standings. The panel didn’t disagree with the violation itself, but rather just amended the penalties that were given out. NASCAR released a statement expressing disappointment in the outcome, citing the ability of the harsh penalties to act as a deterrent toward future violations. You can view the full statement below.
As for the impact of this decision, it means we have a new points leader in Alex Bowman. Two of his teammates have also made it back into the top 10, with William Byron now sitting in third and Kyle Larson in ninth. It will be interesting to see how this decision affects future penalties. NASCAR certainly wants to drop the hammer to prevent future violations, but with these penalties reduced, perhaps others will test their luck a bit to find some extra performance in their cars. Whatever the result, it seems that this situation is behind us, and it’s now time for racing at Richmond.
Official Statement from NASCAR regarding the Hendrick Motorsports appeal: pic.twitter.com/uWo4QpLsy7
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 29, 2023
The Track
Richmond Raceway is a 0.75-mile short track located in Richmond, Virginia. NASCAR has raced at Richmond since 1953, and it has appeared twice on the calendar every year since 1959 except for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Richard Petty holds the record for most wins at the track with 13, including seven in a row from 1970-1973. Kyle Busch is the track’s most recent winner, taking last year’s fall race, and his six wins are the most amongst current drivers. Denny Hamlin won last year’s spring race.
The track is rather shallow, with just eight-degree banking on the front stretch and two-degree banking on the back straight. The turns have 14-degree banking. Sunday’s race will cover 300 miles and take 400 laps to complete. Stage 1 will be the first 70 laps of the race, while Stage 2 will cover the next 160. Stage 3 will cover the final 170 laps of the race.
Points Standings
Let’s see where things stand after COTA and after the reinstatement of points for the Hendrick drivers this week.
- Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports – 226 points
- Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing – 211 points
- William Byron*, Hendrick Motorsports – 197 points
- Kyle Busch*, Richard Childress Racing – 192 points
- Joey Logano*, Team Penske – 186 points
- Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing – 186 points
- Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing – 184 points
- Ryan Blaney, Team Penske – 177 points
- Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports – 170 points
- Austin Cindric, Team Penske – 166 points
*= 2023 race winner
Predictions
It’s only fitting that for the Toyota Owners 400 I’m going with a Toyota driver to reach victory lane. Denny Hamlin has always run well at Richmond, with four career wins and over 2,000 laps led in his 32 races at the track. Recently, in the last five races there, he’s led the most laps and has the second-best average finish only behind his teammate Martin Truex Jr. Consistency is key for Hamlin at Richmond, and I think he adds another win to his tally this weekend.
- Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing
- Joey Logano, Team Penske
- Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing
- William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports
- Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing
How To Watch – NASCAR at Richmond (All Times ET)
- Practice: Saturday, April 1 – 10:05 a.m. – FS1
- Qualifying: Saturday, April 1 – 10:50 a.m. – FS1
- Toyota Owners 400: Sunday, April 2 – 3:30 p.m. – FS1 (Green flag at 3:45 p.m.)
