Chevrolet Camaro Hendrick 9 and 48 penalized

Defending champion Chase Elliott's No. 9 team and teammate Alex Bowman's No. 48 team are in violation of section 20.6.1.e: "Once the engine block is sealed, it must still be used in the same vehicle number »

Chevrolet block NASCAR © Hendrick

Each team lost 25 points in the driver and team owner standings, and crew chiefs Alan Gustafson (No. 9 team) and Greg Ives (No. 48) were fined $50. NASCAR also suspended Hendrick Motorsports executive vice president and general manager Jeff Andrews and engine department manager Scott Maxim for one race.

Chase Elliott and Alan Gustafson. © Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Hendrick Motorsports officials immediately admitted the allegations, effectively accepting the sanctions: “Due to an internal error, one of the sealed engines assigned to the No. 9 car was unintentionally assigned to the No. 48 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Although the engine passed technical inspection and no competitive advantage was gained, we recognize that NASCAR's process was not followed correctly in this case. The rules regarding the allocation of sealed engines are clear, and we understand and respect the penalties. We apologize for the error and have taken the necessary steps to ensure this does not happen again. »

Alex Bowman and Greg Ives © Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The penalty drops Elliott from fifth to sixth in the standings while Bowman remains in 11th place. These point penalties only concern the general ranking and therefore have no impact on PlayOff points.

Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 of the 22 races already held this year. Its four drivers are part of the top 10 and are guaranteed to compete in the first part of the PlayOffs. Kyle Larson leads the quartet with four wins this season compared to three for Bowman, two for Elliott and one for William Byron.

There are four regular season races remaining. The season will resume after the Olympic break on August 8 at Watkins Glen.