William Byron is safe! The #24 driver recently won the appeal against NASCAR and its 25-point penalty. And with the sentence reversed, Byron has now reached the 7th position in the points table. But what now?
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At the Texas Motor Speedway race in September, William Byron intentionally bumped the rear of Denny Hamlin’s car while the race was under caution. And this sent Hamlin’s car spinning out on the grass. However, no action against Byron was taken during the race.
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In fact, NASCAR’s senior vice president of the competition department said that they did not notice the incident. He explained that they were too busy ascertaining the cause of the caution and did not see what was going on between Hamlin and Byron. Due to this, Byron continued to race, without any repercussions.
However, soon, other drivers and fans called out NASCAR for the unfair decision. And a few days later, NASCAR levied a 25-point penalty on Byron as well as Hendrick Motorsports. Moreover, a $50,000 fine was also issued. However, Hendrick Motorsports appealed against it, and on Thursday, National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the penalty.
But Byron has now been issued a $100,000 fine without any point deduction. And this incident forced NASCAR to reconsider the rules. Recently, NASCAR updated its rulebook language to accommodate the words “or spinning” in addition to “intentionally wrecking.” However, fans didn’t seem to like these new updates.
Really? They are taking it to that technicality? “Technically” wrecking is not the defined term for crashing another car into the wall, but they use that verb in the rule book.
— That Jones Fan (@thatjonesfan) October 7, 2022
What’s the difference honestly? We gonna add language to say and bumping and running into wall and … One has to assume the person reading the rule book understands intent. They apparent look for loopholes when convenient in these panels. Of course owning a Chevy dealership helps
— Kris (@Kriswalker61) October 7, 2022
Is it fair to change/edit rules during an ongoing season? I feel like they should’ve released this as a draft for the remainder of the season as heads up for next year when they officially implement the rule.
— ® (@2A_2J) October 7, 2022
So if they amended the rule how did Byron win the appeal I’m so mad about this
— Nick (3–1) ? ? (@JoshAllenGOD) October 7, 2022
To translate this rule change:
We let the Hendrick diver get away with it, but we rewrote the rule to ensure nobody gets revenge on our chosen team.
— Bob Bauer (@fombellman) October 7, 2022
sounds like @TeamHendrick and @WilliamByron got away with one on that appeal panelists. Never really had a problem with William, but for the sakes of money I hope he finds the wall a few times for his point and hurt Rick’s pockets some more.
— OBeast (@MARK11OBRIEN) October 7, 2022
Gee where was this in 2008? Robby Gordon would have won at Montreal and Ambrose would have been put in back or fined. Typical NASCAR and their inconsistencies.
— Kevin B, 8 days until ? (@InifinityM1992) October 7, 2022
Wait, I’m confused. Didn’t the appeals panel say that he did violate the rule? I understand the update to the penalties section, but is the infraction update just to CYA? pic.twitter.com/zUjHsGUIMl
— Conrad Stein (@ConradStein6) October 7, 2022
DIVE DEEPER
NASCAR cannot appeal against the decision ruled out by the panel. The Appeals Board, consisting of Hunter Nickell, Dale Pinilis, and Kevin Whitaker did not reveal the reasons behind the decision. But this reversal has certainly changed a lot of things for Byron and other drivers.
How did William Byron’s penalty reversal affect NASCAR playoff standings?
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NASCAR had charged William…
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