Well, well, well. Isn’t it surprising what just happened? Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR penalty has been updated for the second year in a row and now, the team will not lose any drivers or championship points. This essentially means that Chase Elliott might not be the only championship contender from Rick Hendrick’s team this season.
When NASCAR penalized HMS, all its drivers except Elliott were essentially out of the championship conversation for obvious reasons.
Now that the points have been awarded back to Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman, the competition for who wins the title has intensified once again not just in the overall series, but within the HMS stable as well.
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Also, unsurprisingly, the announcement of the penalty being updated wasn’t something that went down well with the fans.
NASCAR Fans call out the “corrupt” appeals board for the penalty reversal
According to NASCAR, “The National Motorsports Appeals Panel rules to amend the L2 penalty issued to the Nos. 5, 9, 24, and 48 of Hendrick Motorsports. There is no loss of Championship and Playoff Team Owner and Driver points.”
Now, the popular sentiment among the fans has lately been that Hendrick Motorsports gets a slight favor ahead of everyone; that there’s a bias in the governing body’s mind for them.
And now, with a penalty reversal for the second year in a row, fans didn’t hold back on their brutal calling out.
ban those cheaters
— pierre(#1 Anthony Edwards fan) (@NBA_pierre10) March 29, 2023
There is no penalty for breaking the rules? Right.
— Thomas Jarrett (@TJarrett312) March 29, 2023
WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin Exposes the Malicious Kyle Larson Incident After His NASCAR Driver Bubba Wallace Had Run Through Larson Earlier in the Day
Appeals board is obviously corrupt. Admitting they broke the rules and then making the penalty go away anyway
— ⚜️Andrew⚜️ (@agarret83) March 29, 2023
Check cleared!
— sminer (@sminer15) March 29, 2023
However, some voices reasoned that it wasn’t a case of NASCAR favoring the team; rather, NASCAR wanted the penalties to be upheld, as evidenced by the statement.
Nascar isn’t even happy it got turned over yet people will say nascar had a voice in this
— sportsguy70 (@CjNascar6767) March 29, 2023
Will Chase Elliott make a return soon?
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Despite him being out for a few weeks now, there’s no specific news about Chase Elliott’s return to Cup Series. HMS’s General Manager Jeff Andrews had earlier mentioned that they’re certainly not going to rush it as for them his recovery and health is paramount.
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“Certainly, there’s a little bit of a setback, and obviously Chase is very disappointed. The most important thing is Chase’s health, and we’ll have a suit ready for him when he’s healthy and ready to get back in a race car,” he said as per FOX News.
But it’s not as if Elliott is completely out of action. He did make an appearance in the FOX Booth during the recent COTA race, and based on the things he said and was suggesting, it’s pretty clear his racing instincts are still as sharp as ever.
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Yet, could he contend for the championship now that his teammates, who are all running consistently well every week, have their points back?