An important appeal will take place ahead of the race weekend at Charlotte Roval. NASCAR has set the date for the appeal of a 25-point penalty issued to William Byron.
NASCAR provided confirmation on October 3, one day after Byron finished 13th at Talladega Superspeedway. A three-person panel will hear the appeal on October 6 and decide whether to uphold, modify, or rescind the original penalty issued after Byron spun Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR announced on September 27 that Byron had violated Sections 4.3.A & 4.4.C of the NASCAR Rule Book with his actions at Texas Motor Speedway. 4.4.C specifically mentions “intentionally wrecking another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result.”
Violating Section 4.4.C could bring about the loss of 25-50 points and a $50,0000-$100,000 fine. NASCAR opted to issue a $50,000 fine to Byron and dock him 25 driver points. The sanctioning body also docked the No. 24 team 25 owner points.
Rick Hendrick Provided Comments About the Penalties
GettyWilliam Byron (bottom) received a 25-point penalty and a $50,000 fine.
The penalties were a topic of conversation during the race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Byron and team owner Rick Hendrick both faced questions about the appeal and whether they believed they could win.
Neither the driver nor the owner would provide details about their case given that the appeal had not happened just yet. However, Hendrick indicated that the team has a strong case to present.
“25 points in the Playoffs is a ton. I mean, in regular season if you got a bunch of races, you can make it back up,” Hendrick said during a post-race press conference at Talladega. “I’ve seen other cars under caution hit each other.
“In that situation, [Byron] wasn’t trying to spin him, but they got a tower full of people, they could have put him in the back, could have done something right then rather than wait till Monday or Tuesday, then make a decision. That’s like saying you’re going to tell everybody who won the race next week. That’s a little strange. I think it was excessive. We’ll just see what happens.”
The Roval Remains a Pivotal Race
GettyWilliam Byron prepares for practice at Kansas Speedway.
Whether or not Hendrick Motorsports wins the appeal, Byron will have one goal heading toward the Charlotte Roval. He will have to stack as many points as possible during the cutoff race.
The Bank of America Roval 400 is the final race in the Round of 12, and it represents the final opportunity for championship hopefuls to remain above the elimination line. Only Chase Elliott has punched his ticket to the next round by winning at Talladega Superspeedway.
Byron is currently 11 points below the cutline pending the outcome of his appeal. If the panel upholds the original penalty, he will have to pass Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe, the two drivers that are in a tie for the final transfer spot. He could potentially achieve this goal with a strong points day at the Charlotte Roval.
Byron has made four starts at the Charlotte Roval, and he has two top-10s. He finished sixth in both 2019 and 2020 before finishing 11th during the 2021 race. Though this was after Tyler Reddick made contact with the rear of the No. 24 and made Byron miss the corner. The Hendrick Motorsports driver had to serve a stop-and-go penalty, which knocked him out of contention for at least a runner-up finish.
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