Kenseth, Patrick Draw Penalties From Martinsville

(DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - November 3, 2015 – RIS) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Matt Kenseth and Danica Patrick were both subjected to penalties following their actions in Sunday's Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 race. Patrick got her wrist slapped for going after David Gilliland for a perceived earlier bump.

Kenseth, after going several laps down in an earlier multi-car crash, came back and, as Logano passed him cleanly, was adjudged to have deliberately taken a shot at the (then) race and points leader and driven both cars into the wall. This was a retaliation for Logano's bump to pass Kenseth in the last race at Texas. Joe Gibbs Racing immediately announced an appeal of the penalty. The appeal process normally means that a driver may continue to compete pending the final appeal processes.

Here are the NASCAR statements and the Joe Gibbs Racing reply:

• ·Matt Kenseth, the driver of the No. 20 car, has been penalized for an infraction that occurred during the Nov. 1 race at Martinsville Speedway. This is a Behavioral Penalty(Sections 12.1, 12.8).Kenseth has been suspended from NASCAR through the completion of the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship events and placed on NASCAR probation for a six-month period following issuance of the penalty notice.

"Based upon our extensive review, we have concluded that the No. 20 car driver, who is no longer in the Chase, intentionally wrecked the No. 22 car driver, a Chase-eligible competitor who was leading the race at the time," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. "The No. 20 car was nine laps down, and eliminated the No. 22 car's opportunity to continue to compete in the race.

"Additionally, we factored aspects of safety into our decision, and also the fact that the new Chase elimination format puts a premium on each and every race. These actions have no place in NASCAR."

• ·Danica Patrick, the driver of the No. 10 car, has been penalized for an infraction that also took place during the Nov. 1 race at Martinsville Speedway. This is a Behavioral Penalty (Sections 12.1, 12.8). Patrick has been fined $50,000, assessed with the loss of 25 series championship driver points and placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31.

Joe Gibbs Racing announces today that driver Matt Kenseth will appeal the penalty issued by NASCAR.

The appeal will challenge the severity of the penalty which is believed to be inconsistent with previous penalties for similar on-track incidents. There will be no further comments from JGR personnel during the appeal process.