23XI Racing announced on Wednesday that it would withdraw the appeal against the penalty that NASCAR issued for manipulating the Cup Series race in Martinsville. The team reasoned that its resources would be better used towards preparing for the season finale in Phoenix than towards a scuffle with the racing promotion. However, it did not fail to defend itself.
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The official statement read clearly, “We disagree with the penalty ruling and strongly believe we did not break any rules at Martinsville.”
The penalty resulted from questionable radio transmissions and Bubba Wallace’s on-track decisions, in which he seemed to deliberately slow down to help his fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell gain the spots he needed to make the Championship 4.
He was fined $100,000 and deducted 40 points for this. His crew chief Bootie Barker and spotter Freddie Kraft were suspended for the season’s final race. And finally, the team was hit with a fine of $100,000 and a 50-point deduction in the owner’s championship standings. All these punishments will stand now that the team has decided not to take the matter further.
Fans react to 23XI Racing’s decision to not appeal
The team further said, “It is our conclusion that it is in our best interests, and those of our team members, partners, and fans to fully devote our personnel and resources this week toward the championship and not an appeal.” Tyler Reddick made history for the team when he won at Homestead-Miami in the Round of 8 and secured himself a chance to fight for the title.
Making the best use of this opportunity is what the team wants to do. But is that the only reason for not choosing this battle? One fan responded to the statement on X, “In other words “filing an appeal would fuck up our lawsuit.”
23XI Racing is already in a bigger fight against the promotion concerning the charter agreement. With an antitrust lawsuit filed last month, it may not want to heat things further.
New update from 23XI pic.twitter.com/CFlIuxOJxC
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) November 6, 2024
Another fan didn’t see the point in appealing. They wrote, “Don’t blame you. Nascar wouldn’t overturn a penalty against a team that is currently suing them.” In hindsight, one can’t argue that putting all engines behind Reddick is the wiser thing to do right now. Winning the championship in just its fourth year of operation will be an incredible achievement for the team.
One enthusiastic follower quipped, “All in on the 45 baby, let’s get this championship!” The one sad outcome of this entire affair is that Barker will no longer be seen as the crew chief of Wallace’s No. 23 team. He was set to participate in the finale and then take on a new role in the race shop, but now his watch has been declared over with Martinsville.
“so that was bootie’s last race on top of the pit box,” one user noted. All the spotlight will now be on Reddick and the No. 45 team. They will compete against William Byron, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney for the 2024 Cup Series championship. A team that has filed a lawsuit against them winning the title will be the worst nightmare of NASCAR. Drama doesn’t get any better than this.
