What happened
On lap 39 at Martinsville, Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 team put too many crew members in contact with the pit-service area during Corey Day’s stop under caution. NASCAR ordered Day to the tail end of the field, recording enforcement on lap 44.
Day’s car had already suffered heavy right-rear damage in the preceding restart crash on lap 37. Contact sent Lavar Scott into Day during the incident.
Background
Day later regained the lead through pit strategy. Crew chief Adam Wall chose to stay out with fewer than 90 laps remaining, putting the damaged car back at the front. Day finished 3rd.
What it cost
The personnel violation cost Day his place in the restart order while he was racing a damaged car. NASCAR’s damaged-vehicle policy prescribed a flag-status penalty for exceeding the crew limit during repairs.
What could have been done differently
Hendrick needed to control access to the service area while attending to Day’s car. NASCAR’s pit-road procedures allowed a maximum of 6 crew members in the assigned box unless officials authorized otherwise. The team should have established who was permitted to enter before service began and kept additional personnel outside the restricted area.
Hendrick needed to prioritize the damage work among its authorized personnel and assign the repair tasks before the car arrived. The driver-assist crew member was prohibited from performing other service on the service side of the pit wall.