23XI Racing may have walked away from Charlotte with Tyler Reddick finishing 4th in the #45 Toyota, but Charlotte proved to be a dismal weekend by all other accounts. 

Their drivers, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst, finish 22nd and 21st, respectively. And to top it all, NASCAR has indefinitely suspended their account manager, Evanna Howell, after she hit a 77-year-old man with a golf cart. 

According to a report filed against Howell in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, the 35-year-old was charged with assault against Dennis Manchester.

Howell "unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did assault Dennis Manchester with golf cart used to assault the victim deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury," according to Judge Matthew Black.

Howell’s indefinite suspension by NASCAR came as part of its weekly penalty report that was released on Wednesday. Beside Howell’s name, the level of penalty was stated as Behavioural, while the infraction was specifically marked as Section 4.4 A. 

According to section 4.4 A, which dictates general behaviour, the section states that fines, points suspensions or memberships can be revoked on certain incidents that flout the guidelines. The section clearly states, “confrontations with physical violence and other violent manifestations such as significant threat and/or abuse and/or endangerment. 

It also states that “Being charged with or convicted of significant criminal violations or having had determinations rendered by criminal or civil authorities that in NASCAR’s judgement, necessitate action.”

Howell lives in Charlotte and is a senior account manager for 23XI Racing. She was released from the Cabarrus County jail after posting a $125,000 bond. Howell is scheduled to appear in court for her transgressions on June 16. 

Recent Fine and Penalty on Section 4.4 A Upheld by Appeals Panel

Section 4.4 A has come into the picture a lot recently, before the incident with Howell, which 23 XI is yet to make a statement on, a transgression under the same section was upheld. 

After the race in Texas, NASCAR found Ryan Preece guilty of intentionally taking out Ty Gibbs because of some things that Preece, the #60 RFK driver,, had said about being done with Gibbs after Preece was left annoyed by Gibbs driving on track. 

Preece’s penalty was a massive 25-point and $50,000 penalty. Preece and RFK appealed the penalty with the National Motorsport Appeal Panel. 

The panel recently heard evidence presented by both RFK Racing and NASCAR and decided to uphold the penalty, although not unanimously. The voting went down 2-1 in favour of NASCAR, with Preece now 25 points down in the fight to the Chase.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason