Denny Hamlin had his chance to plead his case to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday in an attempt to lessen penalties, which were dished out by NASCAR following an on-track incident with Ross Chastain in the closing laps at Phoenix Raceway last month.
After hearing and considering the appeal, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel concluded that Hamlin did indeed violate section 4.4 of the NASCAR Cup Series rule book, which pertains to the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct.
As a result, the three-person panel upheld the penalties.
The penalties levied by NASCAR were the deduction of 25 driver points and a monetary fine of $50,000.
The three-panel members that heard Hamlin's case were Mr. Hunter Nickell, Mr. Dale Pinilis, and Ms. Lyn St. James.
Hamlin does have the option available to appeal further to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer but has not given an indication at this time whether he will exercise that option.
Following the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at Phoenix Raceway, there was no talk of Hamlin receiving penalties for the incident with Chastain, as it was seen as a racing ordeal between two rivals.
However, following the race weekend, Hamlin admitted intent on his podcast "Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin" which caused NASCAR to take another look at the incident.
In the end, NASCAR took action and docked points from Hamlin's 2023 total in the NASCAR Cup Series standings and fined him as well.
Photo Credit: David Rosenblum, LAT Images, Courtesy of Toyota Racing
