NASCAR
William Byron, Ty Gibbs Given Behavioral Penalties from Sunday’s Texas Race
After controversial moments on-track Sunday at Texas, NASCAR officials have handed out severe penalties to both William Byron and Ty Gibbs. For both separate incidents, deemed to be rough driving, each driver and team has been hit with a monetary and points fine.
Playoff contender William Byron has been docked $50,000, and also suffers a loss of 25 driver and owner points. Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet spun Denny Hamlin under caution Sunday, after the 11 ran him wide off of turn two. This ruling carries with it a sizable shift in the Playoff standings, dropping the Hendrick Motorsports driver from third to tenth on the grid. Byron initially left Texas 17 points ahead of the Round of 8 cut line, but is now eight points shy of advancing. With two races left in the Round of 12, Byron will attempt to make up this deficit.
On the other hand, Ty Gibbs incurred his own 25 point penalty in owner standings. Due to his role as a substitute driver, he does not collect driver points in the Cup Series. Gibbs, 19, was also fined $75,000 for veering into Ty Dillon on pit road. Dillon’s No. 42 Chevrolet came near some defenseless RFK Racing pit crew members and NASCAR officials after Gibbs’ swipe.
This is the second time Gibbs has triggered a pit road fine this year for unsafe actions. After the Martinsville Xfinity race on April 9, Gibbs was handed a $15,000 fine for running into Sam Mayer’s car post-race with other people in close proximity. This ultimately led to the brawl on pit road between both teenage drivers.
Both of these incidents are seemingly late in being penalized by NASCAR. That is because NASCAR officials did not see either discrepancy take place during the race Sunday. Byron would recover from the Hamlin shunt to finish seventh, with the 11 battling back to 10th. Hamlin however did not have his original position restored under caution, so he had to claw his way back through the field. Gibbs meanwhile left Texas in 20th.
In addition to these two high-profile driver penalties, crew member Patrick Briody has also been indefinitely suspended for violating the NASCAR Substance Abuse Policy. Briody was a road crew mechanic with the Our Motorsports No. 02 Xfinity Series team.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter
Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
