NASCAR: William Byron decision shakes up playoff picture

William Byron’s 25-point penalty has been rescinded ahead of the final race in the round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, putting him in a provisional transfer spot.

The National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the penalty which was issued to Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron after he spun Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin under caution during the opening race of the round of 12 of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Texas Motor Speedway two weekends ago.

After NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller stated that NASCAR had initially “missed” the incident and would have either sent Byron to the back of the field or allowed Hamlin to retain his position had they seen it, NASCAR docked Byron 25 points and fined him $50,000.

Hendrick Motorsports appealed the penalty, presumably basing their case on the fact that if NASCAR had been paying attention, neither one of the aforementioned penalty possibilities would have cost Byron anywhere near 25 points.

They won the appeal, and Byron got his 25 points back, though the fine was doubled to $100,000.

While probably the right call, the fact that NASCAR had to reverse course to make it certainly won’t go over well with a number of teams, especially Hamlin’s #11 team, as it has shaken up the playoff picture with just the Bank of America Roval 400 remaining in the round of 12 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval this coming Sunday afternoon.

Here was the playoff picture after the race at Talladega Superspeedway, with Byron’s penalty factored in.

Rank – Driver – Points (Behind)
1 – Chase Elliott – 1 WIN (3,103 points)
2 – Ryan Blaney – 3,101 (+32)
3 – Ross Chastain – 3,097 (+28)
4 – Denny Hamlin – 3,090 (+21)
5 – Joey Logano – 3,087 (+18)
6 – Kyle Larson – 3,087 (+18)
7 – Daniel Suarez – 3,081 (+12)
8 – Chase Briscoe – 3,069 (+0)
———ROUND OF 8 CUT LINE———
9 – Austin Cindric – 3,069 (-0)
10 – William Byron – 3,058 (-11)
11 – Christopher Bell – 3,036 (-33)
12 – Alex Bowman – 3,015 (-54)

Here is the actual playoff picture heading into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Rank – Driver – Points (Behind)
1 – Chase Elliott – 1 WIN (3,103 points)
2 – Ryan Blaney – 3,101 (+32)
3 – Ross Chastain – 3,097 (+28)
4 – Denny Hamlin – 3,090 (+21)
5 – Joey Logano – 3,087 (+18)
6 – Kyle Larson – 3,087 (+18)
7 – William Byron – 3,083 (+14)
8 – Daniel Suarez – 3,081 (+12)
———ROUND OF 8 CUT LINE———
9 – Chase Briscoe – 3,069 (-12)
10 – Austin Cindric – 3,069 (-12)
11 – Christopher Bell – 3,036 (-45)
12 – Alex Bowman – 3,015 (-66)

While everybody who was already above the cut line is still above it by the same amount, this is because the driver who had been right above it, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, was tied with the driver who had been right below it, Team Penske rookie Austin Cindric. Now Briscoe is the first driver below it, and with the same point total.

However, that won’t make any of those drivers ahead of it any more comfortable, considering now there is a lot less leeway and one additional driver in the mix to potentially pass them in Sunday afternoon’s race.

For example, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez is still 12 points above the cut line, but now he is the last driver above it; there is no more of any sort of buffer.

Even the drivers who haven’t moved are a bit less comfortable. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, for instance, is still 18 points above the cut line and in the same sixth position, but he is now within six points of dropping below the next two drivers, as opposed to 18. This could be crucial, particularly if somebody wins from below the cut line.

As for the drivers below it, their jobs got quite a bit tougher. Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman was already eliminated, since he won’t be competing this week as he aims to recover from the concussion-like symptoms he has suffered since his wreck at Texas Motor Speedway, and now Briscoe, Cindric, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell have dropped 12 points further back.

Of those three, Briscoe probably made out worst, since he went from above the cut line (even if only on a tiebreaker) to 12 points below it. Bell also effectively went from a maybe-must-win situation to a clear-cut must-win situation.

Cindric, of course, also dropped 12 points back, but he has been particularly strong on road courses this year and could very well find himself above it by the end of stage two. Briscoe and Cindric are also in now in the unfortunate position where they have an additional driver ahead of them. Bell was already behind Byron, even with Byron’s penalty.

NBC is set to broadcast the Bank of America Roval 400 live from the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 9. If you have not yet begun a free trial of FuboTV, now would be a great time to do so.