NASCAR has penalised three drivers and teams and suspended nine team members after the controversial penultimate round of the playoffs in Martinsville.
The #23 23XI Racing Toyota of Bubba Wallace, the #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Dillon, and the #1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Ross Chastain were all hit with penalties, due to what the Series has deemed potential race manipulation after a review of Sunday's radio communications of those teams during last weekend's race.
The penalties are the same for all three drivers and teams across the board: A $100,000 fine, the loss of 50 driver and owner points, and one-race suspensions for crew chiefs, spotters and key team executives.
A closer look at how the penalties impact each team
23XI Racing team executive Dave Rogers, #23 crew chief Bootie Barker, and spotter Freddie Kraft have all been suspended. The points penalty drops Wallace from 17th to 18th in the championship standings.
Trackhouse team executive Tony Lunders, #1 crew chief Phil Surgen, and spotter Brandon McReynolds have been suspended for the championship finale as well. Chastain's points position does not change as he remains 19th.
At RCR, team executive Keith Rodden, #3 crew chief Justin Alexander, and spotter Brandon Benesch have been suspended for one race. The loss of 50 points affects Dillon the most, dropping him from 28th to 33rd in the driver standings.
All three teams will appeal. 23XI released the following statement, saying they are "aware of the penalty issued by NASCAR stemming from Sunday's race at Martinsville. We feel strongly that we did not commit any violations during Sunday's race and we will appeal NASCAR's ruling."
What did they do?
The punishments come as a result of what happened in the closing laps of the Round of 8 elimination race.
In the closing stages at Martinsville, Christopher Bell was a lap down and unable to improve his position while William Byron was near the front but on old tyres, with one point separating the duo in the race for a Championship 4 spot.
Dillon and Chastain formed a rolling roadblock of sorts behind Byron, running side-by-side and never truly attempting to pass him. More importantly, they prevented anyone else from challenging the #24. At one point, the #3 team openly asked if the #1 knew "the deal" before instructing Dillon's crew chief to inform Chastain's crew chief.
While this was happening, the Toyota of Wallace was about half a lap ahead of Bell. "God forbid if we don't help a f****** JGR car," he radioed to his team.
As the situation grew more dire for Bell, Wallace abruptly slowed, reporting a possible tyre issue despite later observations from his spotter that all of the tyres were fully inflated.
Wallace's pace fluctuated wildly but he remained on the track. On the final lap, he dropped nearly three seconds off the pace and Bell caught him entering the final corner on the final lap.
Bell got the point he needed and was in the Championship 4, albeit for 27 minutes before NASCAR penalised him for the wall ride that followed his pass on Wallace.
