NASCAR hammers Ford driver Chris Buescher and his team for illegal modifications at Kansas

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR penalized driver Chris Buescher and his Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team for illegal modifications to the bumper of his No. 17 Ford at Kansas Speedway.

The sanctioning body docked the team 60 driver points, 60 owner points, five driver playoff points and five owner playoff points for the level one violation. It also fined the team $75,000 and suspended crew chief Scott Graves from the next two races: the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600.

The hefty penalties came three days after Buescher finished eighth at Kansas and dropped him from 12th in the Cup Series point standings to 24th, well out of playoff contention.

The violations were discovered when the car was inspected at the NASCAR R&D Center after the race.

Cup Series managing director Brad Moran said on the “Hauler Talk” podcast that the car exceeded the maximum 2 inches of reinforcement behind the front bumper foam.

There was no immediate word on whether RFK Racing would appeal the penalty.

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