RFK Racing loses NASCAR Cup appeal, big penalties upheld

On March 23rd, Keselowski and RFK Racing were docked 100 driver and owner points while crew chief Matt McCall was fined $100,000 and suspended for four races.

The penalty dropped Keselowski out of a playoff spot and all the way down to 35th in the standings. He has only made his way up to 31st in the standings since then.

At the NASCAR R&D Center, illegal modifications to parts supplied by NASCAR were found on the No. 6 Ford Mustang, resulting in an L2 level penalty.

The appeal was heard by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel this week and the penalties were upheld following a hearing. From the panel:  

The penalty concerns the following sections in the 2022 NASCAR Rule Book: Section 14.1 C&D and 14.5 A&D.

Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:

- That the Appellants violated the Rule(s) set forth in the Penalty Notice.

- That the Panel affirms and upholds the original Penalty assessed by NASCAR

Appeal Panel Members

• Mr. Dixon Johnston
• Mr. Bill Mullis
• Mr. Dale Pinilis

Although RFK have the right to appeal further, they have decided against such action, releasing the following statement:

“Although we are disappointed in the outcome of the appeal hearing, we are advocates of the process NASCAR has set forth and appreciate the opportunity to make our voice heard in the matter. With that in mind, we do not intend to pursue this further and our focus remains on our upcoming races, with Martinsville up first this weekend.”

Keselowski, who left Team Penske at the end of the 2021 season to become a driver/co-owner at RFK, has endured a difficult start to his 2022 season after RFK swept the Duel races at Daytona. His best finish came in the season-opening Daytona 500 where he placed ninth. He has not scored a top-ten since then.

His teammate Chris Buescher currently sits 19th in the standings with two top-tens so far.