Austin Dillon and the #3 Richard Childress Racing team have received an L1-level penalty after Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Before the race, Dillon’s car was discovered to have a rear deck lid violation: body filler had been added to the part, resulting in its taking by NASCAR officials. Dillon won the pole for the race, his second of 2019, and ultimately finished fourteenth.
As punishment, Dillon and the #3 team lost ten points in the drivers’ and owners’ championships, respectively. The two had been at 253 points apiece, enough for thirteenth in both standings, but the penalty will reduce the total to 243, dropping them to fourteenth behind Ryan Newman and Roush Fenway Racing‘s #6. Dillon’s margin in the playoff grid, which had been 19 points ahead of the cut-off line (Paul Menard‘s 234), has fallen to just nine.
Dillon’s crew chief Danny Stockman Jr. was not suspended, but received a $25,000 fine. Car chief Gregory Ebert, on the other hand, will not be available for the following Monster Energy Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on a one-race suspension, barring appeal.
Other penalties for infractions include Ryan Blaney‘s #12 Team Penske stable not having a secured lug nut during post-race inspection, leading to crew chief Jeremy Bullins getting a $10,000 fine.
