Penalties have been something that NASCAR has often been cited to be inconsistent with. We have seen cases where drivers were let off too easily while others were faced with unreasonably harsh penalties. Following last weekend’s race at the Circuit of The Americas, the Trackhouse Racing driver, Daniel Suarez, was slapped with a fine.

The reason for the same was his on-track fiasco in the pit road. Suarez had repeatedly bumped the back bumper of Alex Bowman while entering the pits. This was then classified by NASCAR as a violation of section 4.4 of the NASCAR Rule Book. Soon after, he was handed a $50,000 fine for his actions.

A tweet by NASCAR stated, “Daniel Suárez has been issued a fine of $50,000 for violating Section 4.4 of the NASCAR Rule Book concerning member conduct after making contact with another vehicle on pit road after a race.”

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However, the sentiment amongst the NASCAR community wasn’t that of content over the punishment allotted. If anything, fans were outraged by the lack of stricter repercussions handed out to the driver.

Fans slam NASCAR’s hypocrisy after Daniel Suarez’s punishment

Several fans argued that Suarez should have been at least handed out a race suspension for his actions on the pit road. They also called out the hypocrisy implemented by NASCAR in delivering punishments to drivers unfairly across the board.

Some of them also argued that if not a race suspension, at least points could have been docked. They believe that Suarez got off too easily.

Fans also justified the necessity of making drivers sit out for races, as that would be the only way to deter them from repeating such offenses again.

Most of the fans believed that Suarez should have received a stricter penalty for his actions on the pit road. Since fines are something that can be easily paid off without much of a dent on the driver, fans argued that the docking of points or a suspension would hurt the driver more.

At the end of the day, penalties come into play so that drivers do not repeat their offenses in the future. It also acts as a deterrent for other drivers engaging in similar behavior. So do you believe that Suarez’s penalty was justified or did he deserve a harsher penalty?

Let us know in the comments below.

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