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Appeals panel upholds penalties to Austin Dillon, RCR

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Nate Ryan and Steve Letarte break down Ross Chastain's incident with Kyle Larson at Dover and whether Chastain's history of aggressive driving will begin to impact how drivers approach racing against him.

A NASCAR appeals panel has upheld penalties assessed to driver Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing.

The team was fined $75,000 and 60 points for a rules infraction at Martinsville Speedway last month.

According to NASCAR’s penalty report, the team violated the assembled vehicle rules in the car’s underwing assembly and hardware, and the appeals panel agreed that illegal changes were made.

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In a Tuesday statement, the panel issued an explanation for upholding the penalties: “As submitted the nuts are not a thread locking device -- they are connected and part of the turn buckle. The nuts do not lock the assembly. Therefore, the assembly has been modified.”

RCR indicated it will not appeal to NASCAR’s final appeals officer. “While we are disappointed in today’s ruling, we look forward to having this issue in the rear-view mirror so we can focus on the rest of the 2023 NASCAR season,” the team said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

Crew chief Keith Rodden was fined $75,000 and suspended for two races. The team and Dillon were penalized 60 points and five playoff points, dropping Dillon from 21st in points to 28th. After Monday’s Dover race, Dillon is 31st.

Dillon finished 12th in the Martinsville race.