William Byron, 24 team hit with massive penalties by NASCAR at Daytona
The two-time Daytona 500 champion, William Byron, is going to start Saturday night behind the ball after today. NASCAR has hit the 24 team with big penalties after the team was caught making an adjustment after inspection.
There was no qualifying session today due to the weather. William Byron was expected to start P11 after the lineup was set by the metric. However, that has now changed after the team was caught messing with the splitter.
Crew chief Rudy Fugle has been ejected from the race. The 24 team loses out on pit stall selection. The 24 car must start at the rear of the field, and Byron must perform a stop-and-go penalty after the green flag is put out.
Jeff Gluck of The Athletic shared the news from NASCAR. William Byron’s team is going to be struggling to start on Saturday night.
Making adjustments after going through inspection is one of the big no-nos in racing. You can’t get away with it often. Teams are always watching each other, on top of officials, and there are cameras all over the place nowadays. It’s not as easy to bend the rules when they have become so rigid.
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For William Byron, this is a big deal. To lose his crew chief for the weekend won’t be easy. Rudy Fugle is in Daytona right now. So, is he going to fly back to Charlotte to be in the Hendrick “war room” and deliver the info the team needs? Or is the 24 team going completely without Fugle and his input this weekend?
Can William Byron lose regular season title?
Given that William Byron is more than 61 points ahead of Chase Elliott in the regular season standings, he has locked up the regular season championship. His P12 finish at Richmond was enough to do that a race early.
So, does this potentially take that away? Byron could only lose the regular season championship at this point if he were to receive a points penalty. Right now, it does not appear that he will get a points penalty. There isn’t much of a precedent for it, and the 24 team should be fine
When the green flag drops, Byron will have to drop to the rear. Then he has to do a stop-and-go. Soon after, he is likely going to get lapped if he is out of the draft for too long.