NASCAR driver loses points lead after Hendrick decision

Ross Chastain has dropped out of the lead of the NASCAR Cup Series point standings after the Hendrick Motorsports ruling.

Trackhouse Racing Team’s Ross Chastain, who took the lead of the NASCAR Cup Series point standings for the first time in his career after the 2023 season’s second race at Auto Club Speedway, held onto it after the following race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But he lost it in overtime the following weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

Two races later at Circuit of the Americas, he finished in fourth place, and he again found himself in the points lead. Still sitting at 211 points, however, he now sits in second behind Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman.

Bowman was one of three Hendrick Motorsports drivers docked 100 points and 10 playoff points following the race at Phoenix Raceway, the other two being William Byron and Kyle Larson, after all four of the team’s Chevrolets were found to have illegally modified the hood louvers.

Any unapproved modification of a single-source vendor-supplied part is deemed a significant violation in the Next Gen era, and NASCAR showed that they were not afraid to crack down on teams found to have committed one last year.

But those louvers were not used in qualifying or the race itself, and a NASCAR appeals panel ruled earlier this week that, despite the fact that the organization had indeed been found to have broken the rules, the points penalties for the drivers were not justified and would be rescinded.

Each of the organization’s four teams (No. 5, No. 9, No. 24, and No. 48) also had their 100-point and 10-playoff point penalties rescinded, but the four-race crew chief suspensions and $100,000 fines were upheld to reflect the violation.

So after Chastain took the lead of the NASCAR Cup Series standings this past Sunday, he will not be the leader heading into this coming Sunday’s race.

Considering the fact that Bowman has actually led the series in total points scored and average points per race after each of the last three races, however, you could make the case that the lead was really his all along, since nothing essentially changed in the standings in the long run.

Bowman initially took the lead of the standings for the first time in his career after the race in Phoenix Raceway before the penalty promoted Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick to the top, and he would have been ahead of Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who took the lead after the following weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, after that race as well.

Now he officially owns a 15-point lead over Chastain, and he hasn’t been lower than first overall in total points scored and average points per race in four races.

Can Chastain retake the lead in this coming Sunday afternoon’s race at Richmond Raceway? Will Bowman hang on? Will somebody else emerged onto the scene and move to the top? Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Toyota Owners 400, and start a free trial of FuboTV if you have not already!