MOORESVILLE, N.C. – NASCAR issued an L-2 level penalty to the No. 34 Front Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team on Tuesday afternoon, penalizing the team after taking their car back to the Concord, N.C. R&D Center following Sunday’s M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
According to the NASCAR Rule Book, the penalty comes under Sections 14.1 C, D and Q as well as Sections 14.5 A and B. Those rules apply to the body and overall vehicle assembly rules surrounding modification of a single source supplied part.
The team and driver Michael McDowell have been docked 100 driver and owner points, as well as fining crew chief Blake Harris a whopping $100,000 and suspending him through the next four Cup races through Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in mid-August.
Additionally, if McDowell and the team win one of the five remaining Cup races in the regular season and | or qualifies for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the Mooresville, N.C.-based team will also be docked 10 playoff points.
Front Row Motorsports’ penalty was similar to the penalty RFK Racing and driver Brad Keselowski received following the March race at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway when modifications were made to the rear fascia of Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford Mustang.
McDowell initially finished eighth on Sunday at Pocono Raceway but jumped two spots following the disqualifications of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch who initially finished first and second respectively after NASCAR found material underneath the wrap on the front fascia of their Toyota Camrys.
Joe Gibbs Racing later revealed on Monday afternoon that a single piece of clear tape was positioned over each of the lower corners of the front fascia ahead of the left-front and right-front wheel openings on both those cars.
The added pieces were 2 inches wide and 5 ½ inches long with a thickness of 0.012 inches and installed under the wrap.
Joe Gibbs Racing did not appeal NASCAR’s disqualifications.
McDowell’s car and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet were randomly selected by the sanctioning body to be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further review on Sunday.
NASCAR’s more stringent penalty structure ranges from L1 to L3 with L3 being the most severe.
FRM’s penalty was considered to be on the lower end of the L2 spectrum.
Less than 24 hours later, on Wednesday afternoon, Front Row Motorsports announced they would appeal the penalty in a statement.
“Front Row Motorsports (FRM) continues to assess the penalties levied against the No. 34 NASCAR Cup Series team and the circumstances leading to the issues with the team’s car after the event in Pocono this past weekend. FRM has initiated the appeal process with NASCAR and will have no further comment until after the process has reached a conclusion.”
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