CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Matt Kenseth is appealing his two-race suspension Thursday, but NASCAR apparently will contend he altered the outcome of a race by intentionally wrecking Joey Logano.
Kenseth delivered payback after being spun by Logano three races ago. On Sunday, he deliberately crashed into Logano, who was leading at Martinsville Speedway. Logano likely was going to win and earn an automatic berth in the final four of NASCAR’s playoffs.
Kenseth’s was suspended Tuesday while Danica Patrick was fined $50,000 for wrecking another driver in retaliation.
NASCAR chairman Brian France told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that Kenseth was harshly punished because penalties needed to be increased to deter any driver from doing the same thing. France referenced a 2013 cheating scandal at Richmond, where Michael Waltrip Racing manipulated a series of events to ensure its driver made the playoffs.
France warned the entire industry after the Richmond scandal that manipulating races would not be tolerated, and he indicated what Kenseth did at Martinsville fit that category. That’s why Kenseth’s penalty was much stiffer than the one given Patrick.