On Thursday afternoon, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel voted to uphold the penalty NASCAR issued to Denny Hamlin for his on-track actions March 12 at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
As a result, the loss of 25 driver points and $50,000 fine NASCAR levied against Hamlin will remain.
The Cup Series driver was originally penalized for violating Sections 4.4 of NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct, which reference manipulating “the outcome of the race,” “wrecking or spinning another vehicle” and “actions … NASCAR finds to be detrimental.”
Hamlin instigated a last-lap incident with Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain during the mid-March race in Phoenix. The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver forced Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet into the wall, essentially ruining both of their chances at a decent finish. Hamlin finished 23rd, while Chastain was 24th.
Later, on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin admitted that the contact was intentional.
“My crew chief told me there were 18 cars on the lead lap. And at that point, I said ‘Alright, well I’m probably running sixth or seventh, I’m about to get passed by everybody behind me who’s on fresh tires. I’m about to finish in the mid-teens,'” Hamlin said on the podcast. “I said, ‘You’re (Chastain) coming with me buddy.'”
Due to his post-race behavior, NASCAR was compelled to further evaluate the on-track incident in Phoenix and ultimately ruled it was in violation of the Code of Conduct. The penalty was dealt on March 15, Hamlin submitted his appeal on March 17 and the appeals panel made its final ruling on April 6.