In an appeal heard Wednesday, The National Motorsports Appeals Panel rescinded the hefty penalties issued to NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner Mario Gosselin and driver Alex Labbe.
NASCAR penalized the organization on Aug. 4 for violating the private vehicle testing rules which they were informed Labbe was participating in an SCCA session at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Road Course.
In a car prepared and entered by Gosselin, Labbe drove what appeared to be a NASCAR Xfinity Series car for seven laps during an SCCA practice | qualifying session.
NASCAR later showed up and asked the team to stop after they said Labbe failed to get “prior approval of his participation in the event.”
The team obliged but Gosselin later told CATCHFENCE.com that day, “We believe we followed every protocol. This was not a test. We were participating in a qualifying session for an event later in the day. When NASCAR asked us to stop, we stopped immediately.”
NASCAR instituted a private testing ban in 2015.
For allegedly violating Sections 5.1.a &. d of the 2020 Xfinity rule book, Gosselin was slapped with a $50,000 fine and docked 75 Xfinity owner points. Labbe also lost 75 driver points.
The appeals panel consisted of Chuck Deery, Jay Signore and Kevin Whitaker.
With their penalty overturned and their points reinstated, Labbe heads to the Daytona International Speedway Road Course for Saturday’s UNOH 188 now 16th in the championship standings, while DGM Racing sits 23rd in owner points.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
