Keselowski Team Penalized Points For Parts Infraction

NASCAR handed down the first penalties under the new-for-2022 penalty structure to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Thursday morning, handing down an L2 level penalty for an unapproved modification to a single source supplied part. In addition to 100 driver and owner point penalties, crew chief Matt McCall was fined $100,000 and suspended from the next four points races. If the team can recover to make the Cup Series Playoffs, it will also be docked 10 playoff points.

That road will be significantly more difficult for RFK without a race win though. The deduction has moved the team from 16th in points to 35th, behind every other full-time team. As it is, the team did not have a banner day in Atlanta. Prior to the race on Sunday, the team was moved to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments, but the infraction was discovered during a teardown inspection after the race at the NASCAR R&D center. The penalty falls under the enhanced L1-L3 series of penalties, with this infraction falling just short of the famed “holy trinity” of engine, tires, and fuel; which also now includes a fourth component in the spec composite bodies.

Earlier this season, NASCAR Senior VP of Competition Scott Miller said, ““To make sure that all of those things stay above board, there’s going to have to be a culture shift from the way that the teams and NASCAR, for that matter, have done business. So this deterrence model has more meat in it, more meaningful penalties, but I think we all thought that it was time for this with the introduction of the new car.”