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William Byron and Ty Gibbs Both Penalized for Aggressive Driving

UPDATE: Hendrick Motorsports is appealing the penalty issued to William Byron, it announced on Twitter.

Both William Byron and Ty Gibbs have been issued penalties for incidents involving aggressive driving during last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR announced on Sept. 27.

Byron, who is currently competing in the Round of 12, has been issued both a monetary fine of $50,000 and a deduction of 25 driver and owner points.

Gibbs has been hit with a similar infraction resulting in a $75,000 fine and a loss of 25 owner points from the No. 23 23XI Racing team.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver’s infraction is a result of an altercation he had with fellow playoff driver Denny Hamlin during the final stage of the 500-mile event.

Byron had slight contact with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and slapped the wall shortly after the restart on lap 258 on Sunday evening. When the next caution flag waved, the No. 24 driver accelerated and punted the rear end of Hamlin’s Toyota, sending him spinning into the infield while under caution.

With no immediate penalty issued, Byron finished seventh in the event while Hamlin rebounded for a 10th-place result.

The penalty will move the No. 24 team from third in the playoff standings to 10th, eight points under the cut line.

When asked why there was no action taken for the incident during the race, NASCAR Vice President Scott Miller claimed that race officials did not initially notice the altercation.

Gibbs’ incident occurred earlier in the race on pit road.

Upon exiting the pit lane, Gibbs was side swiped by Petty GMS Racing driver Ty Dillon after the latter exited his pit box too wide. Gibbs, in what appears to be a retaliatory move, shoved Dillon left and in an angle toward the crew of Brad Keselowski, who was still in his pit box.

“I want to apologize for what happened on pit road during the race Sunday,” Gibbs said in a post on Twitter. “I have to have a better understanding of the situation and my surroundings. I’m thankful no one was injured and will learn from it.”

Gibbs has made 10 consecutive starts in the Cup Series this year while filling in for the injured Kurt Busch and has so far earned one top 10 at Michigan International Speedway in August.

About the author

Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loudcolumn, co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.

Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT

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Bill B

That’s about right for Byron. Had they held him for a couple of laps during the race when the incident occurred, like they should have, he’d have probably finished 25 spots lower. Good penalty for a stupid action.
Be smart, wait until the green flag to exact revenge.

Terry

I remember during the regular season where Lagono did the same thing to Byron and nothing was said or done about it. There used to be a Black Flag for such infractions but apparently it depends on who does the wrecking.

DoninAjax

I have a feeling Little Gibbs will be issuing a lot of “I apologize for…” during his time in Cup. I hope he has to pay his fines himself but I doubt it.

Echo

He needs to learn to be a sneaky snake like the reverand.

Echo

If Byron misses the next cut, he can spend the last four races making sure Hamlin doesnt win anything. Sounds good to me.

Bill B

That’s what I would do. WWBBD? LMAO

Pug

Then when he does that NASCAR can park him for the rest of the season

Johnny Cuda

yup. That’s why this convoluted Chase makes no sense at all.