Kyle Weatherman was handed a USD 25,000* fine after being found in breach of Sections 4.4.B&D in the NASCAR Rule Book, which referenced the NASCAR Code of Conduct.
The penalty reported, released on Tuesday (local time), cited “contact with another vehicle on pit road after the race.”
Under the Rule Books penalty guidelines, “intentionally damaging another vehicle on pit road” could be subject to loss of 25 to 50 driver and/or team owner points, and/or fines of $25,000 to $50,000.
Weatherman drove the #91 DGM Racing Chevrolet to a finish of 25th in the 38-car field, after which he reportedly ran into the #39 RSS Racing Ford of Ryan Sieg in pit lane.
He is currently 22nd in the series standings with a single top 10 from 13 races in the year to date.
Meanwhile, in the Cup Series, NASCAR has finally granted a Playoff waiver to Kyle Larson after his failed ‘double’ attempt.
The 2021 Cup champion was set to contest both the Indianapolis 500 and Charlotte 600 last month but the former was delayed by around four hours due to rain and hence he missed the start of the latter.
Ordinarily, drivers must start every regular season race in order to be eligible for the Playoffs, with waivers most often granted to cover injuries.
Elton Sawyer, Senior Vice President of Competition, described the Larson situation as “unchartered waters” for NASCAR when he explained the decision.
“All communication with [Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports team] was [Charlotte] was their priority; that was their day job,” said Sawyer.
“And unfortunately, the weather situation threw them a curveball, threw the industry a curveball and was something that we had to deal with.
“But ultimately, the effort that they made… Without the weather, they were going to be there. We feel confident that was going to happen.
“To not have Kyle Larson in our Playoff and give our fans the opportunity to see him race for a championship … at the end of the day didn’t feel like that’s the right decision for us to make.
“And we didn’t. We felt like we got to the right spot.”
Justin Allgaier started the Charlotte race in Larson’s #5 Chevrolet and was classified 13th once the contest was called early, but would have been credited with whatever result the entry took even if Larson subsequently drove the car.
Sawyer furthermore explained that NASCAR wants to see its drivers attempt the double.
“Obviously, the Coke 600 is a huge race for us, as well,” he noted.
“But, if we look in motorsports in general, the Indy 500 is a big event. We embrace the double. We think it’s great. We want to see other drivers have that opportunity.
“So, we have to just make sure that we’re looking out, first and foremost, for the fans that again buy the ticket that were here in Charlotte.
“And it felt like Kyle and the team gave every effort to be able to get here. He was ready to go and had his helmet on.
“And unfortunately, we were not able to get going and get him back in the car.”
Larson has now had his Playoff points reinstated and sits second in the Cup Series standings with two wins to his name.
* Converted at AUD 1 = USD 0.6648
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