The National Motorsports Appeals Panel, which has been quite busy this week, heard the appeal from Denny Hamlin on penalties levied following an on-track incident in the closing laps of the NASCAR Cup Series event at Phoenix Raceway back in March.
After hearing and considering Hamlin’s appeal, the NMAP opted to uphold the penalties that NASCAR levied on Hamlin.
The ruling confirms that Hamlin was in violation of Section 4.4 of the NASCAR Cup Series rule book, which pertains to the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct. The penalties for Hamlin will remain at 25 driver points deducted for the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry as well as a $50,000 fine.
The three Appeals Panel members that heard Hamlin’s case were Mr. Hunter Nickell, Mr. Dale Pinilis and Ms. Lyn St. James.
If you never saw the incident with Hamlin and Chastain at the end of the Phoenix race, you can view the incident by clicking here.
Video: Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain Find Each Other Again at Phoenix
While no penalty was issued to Hamlin in the immediate aftermath of the incident at Phoenix, Hamlin admitted that he intentionally wiped out Chastain in the closing laps at Phoenix on his new podcast “Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin”.
On the podcast episode, Hamlin stated that him washing up into Chastain, “Wasn’t a mistake,” Hamlin continued by saying, I was, “about to finish in the mid-teens, and I said ‘you’re coming with me, buddy.’”
