CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hendrick Motorsports teams have once again received a major points penalty this season.
On Thursday, NASCAR announced penalties issued to the No. 24 and No. 48 teams, which feature William Byron and Alex Bowman as the drivers.
NASCAR says the teams violated car assembly and change log rules with a "modification to the greenhouse area on each car" at Sunday's race at Richmond Raceway.
Due to the violations, NASCAR has issued 60-point penalties to Byron and Bowman, along with the loss of five playoff points and a fine of $75,000 to each team.
Byron led a race-high 117 laps at Richmond and seemed in position to get his third win of the year before he was spun out on a late restart. Bowman started on the pole and finished eighth in the race.
Finishing first and second in the race, ironically, were Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and Josh Berry, who did not commit any violations, according to NASCAR.
In response, Hendrick Motorsports stated they are reviewing the penalties and will determine the next steps following this week's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
This is the second major penalty levied on Hendrick Motorsports teams this season.
In March, NASCAR delivered the largest accumulative penalty in its history when all four Hendrick Motorsports teams were issued 100-point penalties and $100,000 fines for parts violations following the March 12 race at Phoenix Raceway.
Hendrick Motorsports promptly appealed the penalties and the National Motorsports Appeals Panel removed the points penalties while keeping the fines in place.
Bowman was leading the NASCAR Cup Series points standings before this 60-point deduction. Byron was in fourth place. Bowman and Byron are now seventh and 14th, respectively. However, Byron is all but locked into the NASCAR playoffs as he has won two races this season.
Ross Chastain now leads the NASCAR Cup Series points standings and is 30 points ahead of Christopher Bell.