No. 51 Xfinity Series team owner penalized post-Kentucky

No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing Camaro

NASCAR issued penalties Tuesday to two Xfinity Series teams and three Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series teams for infractions during last week’s events at Kentucky Speedway, including a behavioral penalty for a violation of COVID-19 safety protocols.

Tony Clements, head of the family-owned No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing team, was fined $10,000 for his actions last weekend. NASCAR’s penalty report noted that the elder Clements was cited for “non-compliance with essential personnel/team event roster rules." Those violations fall under Section 12.8.1.b. relating to COVID-19 event protocol guidelines and instructions, and Section 7.7.2.j., which concerns team event roster rules and guidelines.

Also in the Xfinity Series, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team was penalized for having one lug nut not safely secured in a post-race check after Friday’s race. Crew chief Dave Rogers, who is guiding rookie Riley Herbst, was fined $5,000.

One the Gander Trucks side, three teams were tagged with L1-level penalties for triangular filler panels near the bed cover that did not meet NASCAR rule specifications (Section 20.41.12.2) at Kentucky. Each team was docked 10 points in both the drivers’ and team owners’ standings.

Those teams are:

• The No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford for driver Johnny Sauter
• The No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Toyota for driver Derek Kraus
• The No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford for driver Ben Rhodes