NASCAR issued two penalties Wednesday from last Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International:
* The No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by William Byron, was assessed an L1 penalty for post-race violations of rear body inspection heights that were outside NASCAR-allowed tolerances.
Crew chief David Elenz was fined $10,000 and suspended for this weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Mid-Ohio.
Byron’s 10th-place finish was encumbered, and he was penalized 10 driver points, while JR Motorsports also was penalized 10 owner points.
Kelley Earnhardt Miller, general manager of JR Motorsports, issued the following statement:
“After communicating with NASCAR on the penalty incurred by the No. 9 team following last weekend’s race at Watkins Glen, we recognize and accept it. The team will move on to Mid-Ohio this weekend with engineer Brandon McSwain serving as interim crew chief for William Byron and the No. 9 Axalta team. Director of Competition Ryan Pemberton will help call the race from pit road on Saturday.”
* The No. 28 Toyota of Dakoda Armstrong was assessed a safety violation for weight affixed improperly.
Crew chief Stephen Lane and car chief Rick Markle have been suspended for the next three NASCAR Xfinity Series events, starting with Saturday’s race.
They will also miss races at Bristol (Aug. 18) and Road America (Aug. 27).
Armstrong was not penalized.
There were no penalties assessed to any teams in the NASCAR Cup Series.