NASCAR hits Clint Bowyer with championship-crippling penalties

Clint Bowyer’s already long-shot championship hopes became even slimmer Wednesday when NASCAR penalized Bowyer’s No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing team for rules infractions found last weekend.

NASCAR docked Bowyer 25 points, suspended crew chief Billy Scott three races and fined Scott $75,000 for parts that were not properly installed. The violations were found Friday during opening inspection at Chicagoland Speedway, the first Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff race.

Bowyer, who had earned a spot in the 16-driver playoff field, now drops to last in the standings. NASCAR’s Chase format calls for the bottom four drivers without a victory to be eliminated every three races. A race win assures advancement to the subsequent round. Because of the nearly insurmountable points deficit, Bowyer will almost certainly need a victory either Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway or Oct. 4 at Dover International Speedway to qualify for Round 2.

MWR plans to appeal the penalties, which NASCAR said will be expedited due to the playoff implications.

“Michael Waltrip Racing respectfully disagrees with today’s penalties and plans to immediately appeal,” the team said in a statement. “MWR has made mistakes in the past, but we feel we are correct in this instance. We look forward to the opportunity to present our case to the appeals committee and have no further public comment until the process is completed.”

Largely uncompetitive throughout the regular season, Bowyer entered the 10-race Chase as the No. 15 seed and wasn’t expected to challenge for the championship. His title prospects were further diminished when MWR, which also fields a second car for driver David Ragan, announced in August it would disband at the conclusion of season forcing its 217 employees to find jobs elsewhere.

Bowyer struggled at Chicagoland, finishing a pedestrian 19th.