NASCAR issues two penalties after Sonoma Raceway

NASCAR officials have issued two penalties after the weekend’s events at the Sonoma Raceway, they announced on Tuesday evening.

The penalties both stemmed from loose lug nut violations in the Xfinity Series.

Austin Hill‘s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Ryan Sieg‘s No. 39 Ford were each found with one unsecured lug nut, a violation of section 8.8.10.4a, dealing with tires and wheels.

As a result of the two penalty infractions, the respective crew chiefs Andy Street (Austin Hill) and Matt Noyce (Ryan Sieg) were each fined $5,000. That was the extent of the NASCAR penalties from the weekend at Sonoma.

The Xfinity Series is scheduled to return to Iowa Speedway for the first time since 2019 on Saturday, with a Hy-Vee Perks 250 race scheduled.

NASCAR posts viewership increase on FOX, FS1

NASCAR Cup Series viewership this season on FOX and FS1 was up year-over-year despite suffering a weather-affected Daytona 500, the network announced in a press release on Tuesday.

It’s the first time since 2001, the first year in which FOX began to air races, that the network has reported a year-over-year viewership increase despite having a rain-postponed Great American Race. In total, viewership was up 1% (3.369 million viewers) from the 2023 season (3.338 million viewers).

Excluding the Daytona 500, which took place on Monday instead of Sunday, the nine Cup Series races on FOX averaged 3.773 million viewers, up 4% from the year prior. The six Cup Series races on FS1 averaged 2.389 million viewers, a 13% increase from 2023.

The 2024 campaign was the first year FOX‘s lead broadcast booth included Kevin Harvick alongside Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer. Harvick joined the booth after retiring from full-time NASCAR competition following the 2023 season.

“My job is to have people say at the end of the day, ‘Boy, Kevin Harvick really gave me everything I needed to know about this race and Clint Bowyer really entertained me.’ And if we can do that, then I feel it’s been successful. I love what I do,” Joy recently said. “I love the people I work with, and I’d like to keep doing it as long as they feel that I can contribute enough for us to have a first-class telecast.”

On3’s Nick Geddes also contributed to this report.