The three-person National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended part of the penalty to Chris Buescher’s RFK Racing team after the appeal was heard on Wednesday.

Buescher and the team were initially docked 60 driver and owner points after the car was taken the NASCAR R&D Center for a teardown inspection after the Kansas race on May 11 (main image), where it was determined that the team had exceeded the allowed bonded area for the front bumper cover. The rule book states that the front fascia may be strengthened on the inner surface, but only up to two inches in all directions.

The panel amended the penalty to a loss of 30 points, but the rest of the penalty for a front bumper cover infraction remains in place. The No. 17 team was also docked five playoff points, as was Buescher, and fined $75,000. Buescher’s crew chief, Scott Graves, was suspended for two races. He has already served his suspension (North Wilkesboro and Charlotte) and will be back with the team at Nashville Superspeedway.

“The panel concluded that NASCAR met its burden of proof regarding the reinforcement of the front bumper cover but did not meet it regarding the trimming of the exhaust panel cover,” a statement from the panel said. “The rule book regarding the exhaust panel trimming lacking specificity on the amount trimmed or not trimmed. Accordingly, the Panel reduced the owner and driver points penalty from 60 to 30 points.”

The panel was Tom DeLoach, Cary Tharrington, and Kevin Whitaker.

The amended points penalty moves Buescher from 23rd to 16th in the championship standings. He is six points below a spot on the playoff grid.

“We appreciate the opportunity to present our case to the National Motorsports Appeal Panel today and are pleased that the Panel overturned one of the two assessed penalties,” RFK Racing said. “Our goal is to always comply fully with the letter of the NASCAR Rulebook, and our focus is now looking forward to competing for a win in Nashville this weekend.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 averaged 2.72 million viewers in Prime Video’s first NASCAR race.

The race, which was won by Ross Chastain, was the third-highest-watched NASCAR race this season not carried by Fox. FS1 averaged 2.89 million viewers for the March 16 race at Las Vegas and 2.84 million for Phoenix on March 9.

Fox Sports had the first 12 races of the season, with eight being carried on FS1. Last year’s Coca-Cola 600 on Fox averaged 3.2 million viewers.

According to Nielsen, the audience for Sunday night’s race peaked at 2.92 million viewers near the midway point.

Prime Video’s audience had an average age of 55.8 years, which is more than six years younger than the average median age of viewers watching NASCAR Cup Series races on linear TV (61.9).

The 67-minute postrace show averaged 1.04 million viewers and peaked at 1.26 million.

This was the first of five races that Prime Video will carry this season.

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NASCAR’s roots may extend back to the days of bootleggers speeding away from law enforcement, but that effort from the pioneers of stock car racing unearthed a growing spirit of competition that sent ripple effects throughout the automobile industry, and thus, motorsports.

Healthy competition has long been an integral component of several aspects of advancements in society, from the economy, to brand promotion, to taste and luxury, and even who the fastest kid on the school playground is.

The unraveling stages of competitiveness spilled over into the automotive industry as manufacturing innovation began to blossom across the market. And as soon as gearheads began fancying what alterations they could make to squeeze in a little more horsepower in their “toys,” those auto companies took advantage through upstart series like NASCAR in the 1950s, seeking to outdo one another concerning car design.

That led to some of the most iconic rivalries in the American market, involving brands such as Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Plymouth, Oldsmobile and just about any American car maker you could name. While only some of those companies still exist today, the rivalry between Ford and Chevrolet has blazed on throughout the decades.

As Cunning As a ‘Silver Fox’, As Good as Gold: David Pearson & the Wood Brothers

In the 1950s, drivers such as Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Buck Baker were stars for Ford Motor Company, which has had a presence in the sport since its founding. Turner and Weatherly both approached the Dearborn, Mich.-based company to advocate for Ford to support Wood Brothers Racing in its racing operations.

Ford listened, and the two sides joined forces in the mid-’50s, leading to one of the most tight-knit partnerships in motorsports history, one that still stands today as the longest-running team-manufacturer relationship in the sport as the team celebrates its 75th anniversary in NASCAR.

“We’ve always been loyal [to Ford],” WBR co-founder Leonard Wood told Frontstretch. “That’s all we’ve ever run, is Ford products. Ford was out of racing there for a little while, and we got offers to go to another brand, but I never did want to, and we never did. I’ve always preferred the Ford brand. I’m not opposed to [other manufacturers], people can drive whatever they want. I have friends from all kinds of different model cars that people drive, but I prefer the Ford brand myself.”

That brief absence Wood alluded to references Ford’s dispute with NASCAR in 1966, leading to a boycott that spring and summer. The dispute circulated around Ford’s 427 SOHC engine, a response to Chrysler’s Hemi Cammer 427 that kept them afloat. NASCAR initially banned Ford’s engine, then allowed it with a weight requirement, leading to Ford’s brief departure.

How did the team navigate those uncharted waters? Through its exceptional quality that the group never ran short of: innovation.

“We built that little, red modified back there,” Wood said, pointing to a modified No. 21 that is on display at the team’s museum in Stuart, Va. “I took a ’66 Ford frame, laid it in the floor, narrowed it and shortened it to fit a ’37 Ford body on top of it. First of all, it had coil springs in the front and leaf springs in the back. The coil springs all the way around, but then I ended up putting leaf springs in the back and a straight axle in the front.”

The ingenious creation didn’t starve for speed either, as Wood recalls Donnie Allison holding off newly-inducted NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Ray Hendrick in a modified race, continuing its winning tradition.

The Wood Brothers’ loyalty to Ford, as well as that sustained partnership, circles back to the core of what has allowed the team to reach the pinnacle of success while maintaining a admirable level of respect throughout the garage: relationships.

“If I picked one single person and relationship that had nothing but positive implications, it would be the friendship that my dad [Eddie Wood] and Edsel Ford [II] have,” WBR co-owner and president Jon Wood said. “That one came about in total happenstance. They have a lot in common, they have a lot not in common. They came from two completely different backgrounds and worlds, but when they’re together, you’d never know it.”

“I think because of that, Edsel had a lot of positive influence in the direction of our team. Not only did he help us, but he helped with guidance as well and helping my dad make positive decisions that affected us more-so down the road than in the immediate. That one friendship probably, in the current era we’re in today, would be why we’re here today.”

Ford II, the great-grandson of the company’s founder, Henry Ford, has always considered the Wood Brothers family, and both sides have been interdependent on one another through thick and thin.

“They’ve been there in good times. They’ve been there in bad times,” Ford II said in an article by Autoweek. “They’re a part of the fabric of our company, especially when it comes to NASCAR. Since they are a part of the fabric of our company, I can’t imagine them not being there. They’re always around when we need them.”

Both sides can point to those periods where the other’s support was critical — “life-saving,” even. In addition to the 1966 drama, Ford briefly pulled out of NASCAR in 1971 due to a new corporate strategy to slash costs. By pulling factory support, they hoped to encourage more independent teams to run off Ford parts at a lower cost while being funded by sponsors. However, most companies didn’t have the leverage to foot what would be at least a $150,000 bill.

The consequences included the demise of two-time championship-winning powerhouse Holman-Moody Racing, a three-year hiatus for Junior Johnson (who returned in 1974 with Chevrolet) and the departure of WBR’s star driver, Cale Yarborough, who left for USAC. The Wood Brothers only entered 15 races that season. Yet the team remained loyal to the Blue Oval during that crisis.

Bringing the Heat: The Wood Brothers’ Legacy Rolls On

In its early years, the Wood Brothers were called upon by Ford to test parts and set-ups, as well as find ways to save time in the pits, leading to the invention of the modern-day pit stop. The team’s pit choreography paved the way for them to be invited by Ford to pit Jim Clark‘s 1965 Indianapolis 500 car, a race Clark went on to win.

As the sport transitioned into the 21st century, it was Ford’s time to return the favor. After nearly two decades of sponsoring WBR, Citgo left the team following the 2000 season. To make matters worse, the team was enduring an eight-year winless drought and hadn’t finished in the top 10 in points since 1994.

That’s when Ford stepped up to the plate.

“We were in another one of those crisis points,” Jon Wood said. “We had lost our Citgo sponsorship and were left without anything, and I wasn’t old enough to know what was going on at that point in time, but we ended up with the Motorcraft deal in 2001.”

Motorcraft is a parts, accessory and fluid company that was launched by Ford in 1972. The brand signed on to support WBR and Elliott Sadler, leading to a turning point for the team.

“Elliott Sadler goes out there and wins Bristol [Motor Speedway], and that was our first win with them in our first season, and it’s just been good ever since,” Jon Wood said. “A lot of people come and go within that company, but most everyone that we’ve worked with has come to appreciate us not only as people, but someone to work with, in a professional sense, and we’re still chugging along.”

The partnership is one of the longest-running sponsor/team pairings among active organizations, and Motorcraft has become synonymous with the red-and-white scheme, accompanied by the gold No. 21, that has been solidified as one of the most iconic schemes in racing. The sponsor has ridden along for five of the team’s 101 wins, including the 2011 Daytona 500 upset with Trevor Bayne.

“The Wood Brothers aren’t just another race team to us; they’re family,” said Chris Wallace, the U.S. product category sales director of the Ford Customer Service Division. “Their history with Ford goes back more than 70 years, and they’ve been a huge part of our brand story in NASCAR. Since Motorcraft became their primary sponsor in 2001, we’ve built a relationship that’s about more than just logos on a car. It’s about shared passion, tradition, and a commitment to performance.”

Both the Wood Brothers and Ford/Motorcraft’s shared passion and vision for motorsports has fueled a partnership that is tighter than the strongest glue. And for the brand, that loyalty is what stands out above all qualities.

“It really comes down to trust, loyalty, and a shared love of racing,” Wallace said. “A lot has changed in NASCAR over the years. There are new rules, new technology, and new ways of doing things, but through it all, our relationship with the Wood Brothers has stayed rock solid. That’s pretty rare in this sport.

“What makes it work is that we’re in it for the right reasons. The Wood Brothers represent everything we love about racing—history, innovation, and the drive to win. We’ve given them the support they need, and they’ve continued to show up and compete at the highest level. It’s been a true partnership.”

75 Years of Wood Brothers Racing: Pioneers of a Winning Tradition

Manufacturer loyalty among NASCAR’s fan base has been reserved to a shadow of what it was at the height of manufacturer wars. Much of that can be attributed to technology advancements in the auto industry, the auto economy, and the fact that the cars are only stock in name anymore.

Yet, the respect and bond between Ford and the Wood Brothers gives glimpses of that old-school rivalry and loyalty that once defined much of what transpired in the sport.

Just like the history of the team itself, it is a partnership that is as beautiful of a tale as old as time.

Entering his fifth year with Frontstretch, Luken Glover is the author of The Underdog House, shedding light on the motivation and performance of NASCAR’s dark horse teams as they strive to fight to the top. Additionally, Glover reports for the site at various events, and he contributes in the video editing department.

A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a middle school math and PE teacher, as well as a basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.

Larry McReynolds believes the new contracts William Byron and Kyle Busch signed last week are great for both drivers. On the Door Bumper Clear podcast, the legendary NASCAR crew chief and FOX Sports analyst compared the contract signings of Byron and Busch.

“What was Kyle Busch’s other options?” Larry McReynolds said about Busch signing a one-year deal with Richard Childress Racing (RCR). “At 40 years old, sitting on maybe 70-plus race winless streak, not saying it’s because of Kyle Busch, and honestly, what’s Richard Childress Racing’s options as well?

“When you look at Hendrick Motorsports and William Byron doing a four-year extension, that’s kind of a no-brainer for William and the organization. But when you see the one-year deal for Richard Childress and Kyle, really a no-brainer for them as well.”

McReynolds also hinted at some big moves for RCR, specifically for Austin Hill, who drives the No. 21 car in the Xfinity Series. “There’s a reason they’ve convinced Austin Hill to keep driving that 21 Xfinity Series car,” he said.

More on William Byron and Kyle Busch

Since Busch signed just a one-year extension, Hill could replace him once his time with the organization is over. Hill has had a strong run in the Xfinity Series as he has finished in the top 10 of the final standings in his three seasons with RCR. This year likely won’t be any different as he has won three races and finished in the top five in four other races this year.

After Kyle Busch agreed to the new deal, he praised Richard Childress for believing in him. “I give a lot of credit to Richard and him believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be able to come over here and have a chance to drive his car,” Busch said. “So for me, rewarding him with that and having the success on the race track is paramount. Being able to continue on when I first joined, I feel like there were some things that we were doing within the rules at that time that got us some extra speed, and then, there was definitely some things that came down that they didn’t like us doing.”

William Byron is sticking with Hendrick Motorsports because he’s been one of the top drivers in NASCAR for the last few years. He has won the Daytona 500 the last two seasons and is currently the Cup points leader.

The Coca-Cola 600 marked the longest race on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar and the halfway mark of the regular season. Ross Chastain’s impressive comeback win stamped an exciting race following the NASCAR All-Star break.

Below is a look at the full field running order from Nashville 2024. This should be very helpful for examining how drivers performed in the particular race. To see the full chart, make sure you shrink your browser window.

For in-depth information to help you understand driver running order swings, check out our Scouting Report.

Make sure you shrink your browser window to see the full chart.

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