On April 7 the National Motorsports Appeals Panel – a three member panel – met to review and rule on the penalty assessed Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing – RFK Racing – and the number six car driven by Brad Keselowski.  NASCAR assessed an L-2 penalty on March 24 for violating sections 14.1 and 14.5 of the NASCAR rule book.

NASCAR took the number six car to their R&D Center for further inspection and determined that a part issued by a single source had been altered or modified for the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  As a result, NASCAR issued a $100,000 fine, suspended crew chief Matt McCall for four races, has docked owner RFK Racing and driver Brad Keselowski 100 points each, and should Keselowski make the playoffs he will also lose 10 playoff points.

The Appeals Panel has upheld the penalty.  The ruling will keep Keselowski at 31st place in the point standings.

RFK Racing has one more chance to make an appeal with the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer, but the team has said that they will not take advantage of the opportunity.  RFK Racing responded to the ruling via a statement saying, “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.”

After introduction of the new Next Gen car, NASCAR ANNOUNCED ON January 24, 2022 that new penalties would be much stricter than those issued for the old car that included penalties for lug nut violations.  The new Next Gen car no longer has a five lug nut wheel but a larger 18 inch single lug nut wheel.