NASCAR suspends 9 team members, levies $600K in fines for race manipulation

NASCAR suspended nine people and handed out major fines and points penalties after an investigation found evidence of race manipulation.

The decision comes after the controversial end of a Cup Series race at Martinsville on Nov. 3.

NASCAR determined the finish saw multiple teams engage in race manipulation to try and ensure that other drivers aligned with their manufacturer would make the final in Phoenix.

Drivers Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing), Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing), and Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing) were each hit with a loss of 50 driver points and a $100,000 fine.

NASCAR also fined the owners of each team $100,000 and deducted 50 owner points each while crew chiefs Phil Surgen, Justin Alexander and Bootie Barker, along with their respective spotters Brandon McReynolds, Brandon Benesch and Freddie Kraft, were all suspended for the 2024 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Additionally, team executives Tony Lunders, Keith Rodden and Dave Rogers were also suspended for the 2024 finale at Phoenix.

All three teams announced that they would appeal the ruling.

"We took and looked at the most recent penalty that we had written for an infraction, very similar, which was the 41 car a couple of years ago at the Roval," NASCAR Senior VP of Competition Elton Sawyer said.

"We felt like we wanted to ramp this one up and we did, we did that in a way that we included team leadership. And this one, something that we feel like that, you know, we want to get our point across that it's a responsibility of all of us, the team owners, the team leadership as well as ourselves here at NASCAR to uphold the integrity of our sport."

The discipline relates to events that occurred in the late stages of the 500-lap race in Virginia when William Byron's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet began to fade from the front of the field, dropping him closer to the championship elimination line.

As Ryan Blaney pulled away for his Championship 4-clinching win, the Chevrolets of Chastain and Dillon created a blockade behind Byron, both running side-by-side and not passing Byron's No. 24 car over the final 10 laps. Completed passes by those cars may have dropped Byron out of the championship.

Radio communication between crews of Chastain and Dillon even revealed talks about a "deal" when it came to not passing Byron.

Elsewhere on track, Wallace's No. 23 Toyota slowed significantly over the final five laps, eventually getting lapped by Blaney. On the final lap, Christopher Bell's No. 20 Toyota surged past the slowing Wallace to qualify for the championship.

NASCAR eventually determined Bell's move was a safety violation. He was bumped to a 22nd place finish, giving Byron enough points to advance to the championship race.