On Wednesday, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel heard an appeal from the NASCAR Cup Series No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team of an L1 penalty that was levied on June 7th.
The penalty stemmed from the discovery of a modified single-source supplied part, a big no-no in the NASCAR Cup Series with the Next Gen car. According to NASCAR, the modifications were in the greenhouse area of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which participated in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Following the appeal, the Appeals Panel concluded that the Appellant violated the rules set forth in the penalty notice, and as a result, the panel affirmed and upheld the original penalty assessed by NASCAR.
The statement from the panel read as follows:
“The penalty was consistent with previously assessed penalties for similar situations. The rule book is clear that teams are not allowed to modify single-source parts, and therefore the penalty was upheld.”
The panel members for the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB hearing were Mr. Chuck Deery, Mr. Dixon Johnston, and Ms. Cathy Rice.
The L1 penalty for violations of sections 14.1.C&D (Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules) and 14.1.2.B (Engineering Change Log) of the NASCAR Cup Series rulebook led to NASCAR assessing the No. 43 team and its driver Erik Jones a 60-point deduction in the owner and driver standings, as well as a five Playoff Point deduction to both as well. Crew chief Dave Elenz also was fined $75,000 and was given a two-race suspension.
Elenz already served one of the two races of his suspension during the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. As long as the No. 43 team doesn’t decide to take its case to the final appeals officer, Elenz will serve the remainder of his suspension this weekend.
Jones scored his third top-10 finish of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season this past weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. As it stands, Jones ranks 30th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings and will likely need a win to secure a berth in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
