Chris Buescher finished eighth at Kansas Speedway after starting on the front row, but he and Carson Hocevar had their cars randomly selected to go back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection. While the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet was cleared without issue, Buescher’s No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Mustang was not nearly as fortunate.
NASCAR found the team in violation of of the following rule: “Sections 14.1.C: Overall Assembled Vehicle Rules; 14.5.4.G: Front Bumper Cover.” Per Motorsport.com contributor Bozi Tatarevic, “The rule allows bumpers to be reinforced on the inside up to a 2-inch border around the foam, and they likely went further than that.”
As a result, the No. 17 team has been hit with a $75,000 fine and crew chief Scott Graves has been suspended for the next two races, including the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Buescher has been docked 60 driver and owner points, as well as five playoff points.
Buescher is winless after 12 races this year, but he remains inside the playoffs, sitting solidly 12th in the standings. This latest points penalty will drop him all the way down to 24th. He was 33 points above the cut-line, but is now 27 points out. Additionally, the loss of playoff points leaves him in the negative, having not scored any yet this season.
RFK has since released the following: “RFK Racing acknowledges the penalties assessed by NASCAR to the No. 17 Ford Mustang following this past weekend’s race in Kansas. We remain committed to full compliance with NASCAR’s rules. At this time, we are carefully reviewing the details of the situation to determine if we will file an appeal within the timeframe allotted.”
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