Elliott & Bowman receive L1 penalties after New Hampshire

 

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      NASCAR officials issued L1-level penalties to two Hendrick Motorsports teams on Thursday for engine-allocation infractions at the Cup Series’ most recent race.

Hendrick’s No. 9 team for defending series champion Chase Elliott and the No. 48 team of teammate Alex Bowman were found in violation of Section 20.6.1.e in the NASCAR Rule Book, which covers engine assembly. The penalty report notes: “When the long block is sealed, the engine must be used in the same vehicle number the next time it is used.”

Competition officials deducted 25 points from each team’s total in each the driver and team owner standings, and crew chiefs Alan Gustafson (No. 9 team) and Greg Ives (No. 48 team) were each fined $50,000. NASCAR also issued one-race suspensions to Hendrick Motorsports executive vice president and general manager Jeff Andrews and the organization’s director of track engine support Scott Maxim for the next Cup Series event.

Elliott and Bowman were docked 25 points and 25 owner's points apiece. Bowman still currently sits at 11th on the standings, but Elliott will lose a spot and drop to 6th.