National Motorsports Appeals Panel Upholds Richmond Penalties for Dillon, RCR
After having a chance to appeal the sanctions imposed by NASCAR following the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway a couple of weeks ago, Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing came up empty on Wednesday. The National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld the points penalties and NASCAR's decision to strip Dillon and the No. 3 team of the automatic Playoff Berth that was tied to their race win at Richmond.
The appeals panel did amend the penalty for Dillon's spotter Brandon Benesch. Benesch's suspension has been reduced to just one race, which he served this past weekend at Michigan International Speedway where Brett Griffin filled in.
The penalties issued to Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team include the deduction of 25 championship driver and owner points, the finish would not count when determining eligibility for the Playoffs, Playoff Points, or Playoff seeding as well as a one-race suspension for Benesch.
In a statement, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel explained, "NASCAR represents elite motorsports and, as such, its drivers are expected to demonstrate exemplary conduct if its series' championships are to be validated. In this case, the 'line' was crossed."
The appeal was heard by Mr. Tom DeLoach, Mr. Kelly Housby, and Mr. Tommy Wheeler.
With the win at Richmond, Dillon initially vaulted from 31st in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings to being locked into the 16-man NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field. However, NASCAR determined the driver's last lap antics, where he crashed two competitors for the win in the final turn of the race, went too far, which led to the sanctions on the Wednesday following the Richmond race.
With the penalties remaining intact, Dillon now finds himself 29th in the championship standings after this past weekend's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Richard Childress Racing will now have to appeal the decision of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer if they hope to have the penalties overturned. Following the decision by the NMAP, Richard Childress Racing expressed disappointment and a desire to pursue the final appeals process in a statement.
"Richard Childress Racing is disappointed in the results of today's hearing in front of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. We respect the NASCAR appeals process, but we do not believe that today's outcome reflects the facts presented. We plan to appeal the decision to the Final Appeals Officer," the statement read.
Richard Childress Racing is disappointed in the results of today’s hearing in front of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. We respect the NASCAR appeals process, but we do not believe that today’s outcome reflects the facts presented. We plan to appeal the decision to the…
— RCR (@RCRracing) August 21, 2024
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.