NASCAR alters point standings, two days after Nashville race

Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar, who has been in hot water with NASCAR before over retaliatory moves, spun out Wood Brothers Racing's Harrison Burton under a late caution period during Sunday night's Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Hocevar was not penalized during the race itself and went on to finish in 16th place. Burton, whose spin did not cause any additional contact with a wall or any other drivers, was scored in 28th after being taken out in one of the many overtime accidents later on in the race.

On Tuesday, NASCAR confirmed that Hocevar would be penalized for his actions. The driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet was fined $50,000, and he was also docked 25 points in the standings. He was officially penalized for violating Sections 4.4B: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct Penalty Options and Guidelines.

NASCAR standings change due to Carson Hocevar penalty

The points penalty dropped the 21-year-old Portage, Michigan native from 22nd to 24th place in the standings.

The rookie was already effectively in a must-win situation when it came to the playoff picture with seven races remaining on the 26-race regular season schedule, but now that is even more obvious.

Instead of sitting 156 points below Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman, who occupies the 16th and final spot above the cut line, Hocevar sits 181 points behind the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet.

Front Row Motorsports' Michael McDowell still sits 166 points behind, but he has moved up from 23rd to 22nd place in the standings. Stewart-Haas Racing's Noah Gragson still sits 174 points behind, but he has moved up from 24th to 23rd.

The decision to penalize Hocevar is consistent with other NASCAR decisions in recent years to crack down on drivers who intentionally take out other competitors.

Hocevar remains the top Spire Motorsports driver in the point standings, 45 points ahead of Corey LaJoie in 29th place and 118 points ahead of fellow rookie Zane Smith, who finished Sunday's race in a career-high second, in 34th.