The No. 43 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1, fielded by Legacy Motor Club (LMC) and driven by Erik Jones in the Cup Series, was penalized in early June for an infraction discovered after the race at Gateway Motorsports Park on June 5th, 2023. Now, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel (NMAP) has ruled that despite the team’s attempts to appeal the penalties, they will be upheld, according to Jayski.
Following the race weekend at Gateway, the No. 43 NASCAR Chevy Camaro was found to be in violation of the NASCAR Rule Book; specifically Sections 14.1 C&D: Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules, and 14.1.2.B: Engineering Change Log. Specifically, the race car had unapproved modifications to its greenhouse. As a result, Dave Elenz, crew chief for the No. 43 NASCAR Chevy team, was fined $75,000, and suspended from two point-paying Cup Series events. Additionally, Jones was docked 60 championship points along with five Playoff points. The penalties fell under the L1 category, which is the most severe.
Following the penalties, LMC released a statement saying, “We have been diligently working with NASCAR regarding the penalty and are working internally to determine the course of action in response. We will announce that decision within the timeframe determined by the NASCAR Rule Book.”
Shortly thereafter, LMC appeared before NMAP in an attempt to appeal the penalties to the No. 43 Camaro on June 28th, 2023. Panel members included Chuck Deery, Dixon Johnston and Cathy Rice, who ultimately ruled that the No. 43 NASCAR Chevy team would have the penalties upheld.
“The penalty was consistent with previously assessed penalties for similar situations. The rule book is clear that teams are not allowed to modify single-source parts, and therefore the penalty was upheld,” the NMAP panel explained.
Currently, Jones and the No. 43 Camaro are ranked 30th in overall Cup Series points. LMC has the option to appeal to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, but has not indicated if this route will be taken.
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Comments
Most all these penalties are for aero so the best way to stop it is to outlaw wind tunnel testing by the teams.
NASCAR is too controlled – go back to real cars that were modified for racing, have the safety factor enforced, but have a set of basic rules (like the car is a regular production vehicle), and let the teams create ways to make their cars more efficient, faster, slipperier (aero). Everyone racing basically the same car is boring. Once the cars got away from looking like the production cars and became a bunch of jellybeans with wheels, that’s when the popularity started to wane. Put the fun back in racing again.
Oh Hell Yeah
Go support your local short track 🙂
I left NASCAR years ago due to this type of general non-sense.
After Ol’ Dale kicked off, it went to sh!t!!
Haven’t watched a race since then.
They don’t need my money.
Really surprised they let the winner do donuts on the track!
I agree with Mark!
Nascar is to political today. To many restraints on the team! It seems it’s all about the dollar. It’s a shame we lost our race on Sunday and buy on Monday Nascar. Nothing but cookie cutter cars today. Boring best describes Nascar racing now days for the most part. Cars glued together, one can’t get away from the other lap after lap, boring! As Mark CTS-V stated, have one set of basic rules and let the teams do what they do. If you want to hammer teams for the $$$ hammer them for modifications that concerns car or drivers safety.
I want to see Toyota out there banging doors with camaros and mustangs.
Honda as the 4th manufacturer
Givem more horsepower and less downforce. Then you will see some racin
So what was the modification already. Did they tint the windows a different color or something as benign as that?
I pretty much lost my faith in nascar when they allowed ford and toyota to convert there sedans into coups and restrictor plates ! Now its all glam and advertising !
Might of used silicone spray on the sidewall of the tires to give them a perceived edge on the other cars.
Seems like Nagscar LOVES fining people for the stupidest sh!t!!
Give another driver the “stink eye”………..fined $5,000.00
NASCAR found that Jones’ team had modified the greenhouse, the area above the door and between the front and rear windows, on his No. 43 vehicle.
Mods to the greenhouse? And how many pre-race inspections did that car pass?
Many I assume. Just let NASCAR build the cars & we’ll call it IROC LOL
All cars regardless of the manufacturer have a common template, so if the greenhouse doesn’t fit the template the team gets penalized.
And you are absolutely correct about IROC.
There is no longer any Nascar, they are turning the cars into Indy cars for Christ sakes with the single hub just like the ones on all the production cars we have….and the stupid louvers under the cars. Oh and don’t forget if you rub the wall something is going to break and put the team out of the race because they aren’t allowed to fix the cars and get back out and race for some extra points over the other wrecked vehicles. They should be using Firestone tires pretty soon FFS.
Not true, the new composite bodies of the Next Gen cars can withstand far greater impacts than the metal bodies of the older race cars. They are allowed to fix cars, but they have a five minute clock to do so.
If you’re going to comment on the state of modern racing I suggest you inform yourself of the nuances first.
Oh I know the “nuances”, I’ve probably forgot more about Nascar then you know, but anyway I wasn’t talking about the plastic cookie cutter bodies that we have on our stock vehicles, I was talking about actual parts failing or breaking after a fairly light hit of the wall or another car due to all the crumple zones today. And 5 minutes isn’t enough time to fix anything and get back up to minimum speed….all the new rules and fines are a joke.
The new Bud Light style of racing that was to help the little guys be able to afford to be competitive totally backfired….there use to be between 45 to 47 teams trying to fill a 43 car field at every race, now there is only what 37 cars on the track in this new “affordable” Nascam racing.
Put the drivers name above the Window netting so we can tell who is driving.
Too much advertizing inside the vehicle.
No names on Drivers suits anymore!!
It has become a race of mirrors.
Is the giant last name in big bold letters on the windshield not enough for you? And every driver has their name over the window net …
AP: I was talking about the INTERIOR of the Vehicle.
No name on Drivers suit,
No name on bar between A&B Pillars above Window net INSIDE.
According to NASCAR.com, the greenhouse is the top portion of the car, including everything from the top of the doors upward.