William Byron penalized for hit on Hamlin that NASCAR missed

By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has docked William Byron 25 points and fined him $50,000 for deliberately spinning championship rival Denny Hamlin in a retaliatory move missed by scoring officials. The penalty dropped Byron to eight points below the cutline heading into Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. The Hendrick Motorsports driver had been 17 points to the good, and third in the standings, before the penalty. NASCAR admitted it did not see Byron hiting Hamlin during Sunday’s race at Texas. Meanwhile, NASCAR also fined Ty Gibbs $75,000 and docked 23XI Racing 25 owner points for hitting Ty Dillon on pit road while in close proximity of race personnel.