Joey Logano Fined $10k; Two Stewart-Haas Teams Assessed L1 Penalty Following Atlanta
Noah Gragson (No. 10) and Ryan Preece (No. 41) have been docked 35 driver and owner points following a parts confiscation Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Joey Logano has been fined $10k for an illegal modification of his glove.
Following a busy tripleheader weekend for NASCAR’s National Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the sanctioning body has officially released its first penalty report of the 2024 season.
As expected, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano has been assessed a $10,000 fine by NASCAR officials for violating Sections 14.3.1.1 A & B & F of the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book, which specifically cites ‘Responsibilities & Driver Protective Clothing/Equipment’.
The monetary fine serves as a follow-up to a pre-race penalty handed down on Sunday, which required Logano, the second-place qualifier for the event, to start at the rear of the pack and serve a drive-through penalty in the NASCAR Cup Series Ambetter Health 400.
According to NASCAR, Logano was originally penalized on the morning of the 400-mile contest after it was discovered that the Team Penske driver had illegally modified his glove, in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage when sticking his left hand out the window during single-vehicle qualifying.
However, Logano wasn’t the only one penalized out of the NASCAR Cup Series garage this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with further confirmation on Tuesday that NASCAR has assessed a pair of L1-level penalties to Stewart-Haas Racing.
Noah Gragson (No. 10) and Ryan Preece (No. 41) were both assessed with the loss of 35 NASCAR Cup Series driver and owner points, after violating Sections 14.5.6.1 A & B & C of the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book, which cites a problem with the ‘Roof Air Deflectors’ on the two Ford Mustang Dark Horse entries.
These penalties have been looming in the distance since Friday when NASCAR confiscated the roof rail deflectors from both the No. 10 and No. 41 entries before any on-track activity at Atlanta Motor Speedway. These penalties will have a significant impact on both drivers in point standings, heading to Las Vegas.
With these 35-point penalties, Preece will drop to 36th place in NASCAR Cup Series point standings, while Noah Gragson will slot in directly behind in 37th.
As of the time of publishing this story, Stewart-Haas Racing has not released a statement on these penalties, nor have they made a public decision on whether or not they will appeal.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage, SS-GreenLight Racing crew chief Jason Miller has been suspended for the next two points-paying events — Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway — after getting involved in a post-race confrontation with Kyle Weatherman.
Additionally, Seth Chavka, crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota GR Supra, has been fined $5,000 for having one lug not improperly secured.
-- Image Courtesy of Rusty Jarrett, NKP, Ford Performance
