NASCAR: Alex Bowman issued major penalty after New Hampshire

Alex Bowman and the #48 Hendrick Motorsports team have been issued a major penalty following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman scored 28 points in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a ninth place finish, but that total has been reduced to three as a result of an engine-allocation infraction involving the #48 team and the #9 team of Chase Elliott.

The #48 team was found in violation of Section 20.6.1.e in the NASCAR Rule Book, which covers engine assembly, so Bowman was docked 25 points in the driver standings, and the #48 team was also docked 25 points in the owner standings.

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The penalty report on the issue states the following, according to NASCAR:

"“When the long block is sealed, the engine must be used in the same vehicle number the next time it is used.”"

The same penalty was issued to Elliott and the #9 team, as it was a race-winning engine of the #9 team that was found in the #48 Chevrolet.

Bowman’s crew chief, Greg Ives, and Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, were each fined $50,000. Hendrick Motorsports executive vice president and general manager Jeff Andrews and the organization’s director of track engine support Scott Maxim were each issued a one-race suspension.

Hendrick Motorsports officials had this to say about the matter.

"“Due to an administrative error, one of our sealed engines assigned to the No. 9 car was unintentionally allocated to our No. 48 team at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Although the engine passed technical inspection and absolutely no competitive advantage was gained, we acknowledge NASCAR’s process was not followed correctly in this instance. The rules regarding the assignment of sealed engines are clear, and we understand and respect their decision to issue a penalty. We apologize for the mistake and have taken steps to ensure it will not be repeated.”"

This penalty does not drop Bowman in the point standings, though it drastically lessens the likelihood that he will finish the regular season in the top 10 and thus enter the playoffs with additional playoff points.