NASCAR: Kenseth suspension upheld

Matt Kenseth's hope of having his two-race ban overturned now rest on a determination from the Final Appeals Officer after the punishment was upheld by the three-member National Motorsports Appeals Panel on Thursday morning.

NASCAR issued the penalty after determining that the Joe Gibbs Racing driver deliberately took out Joey Logano at Martinsville last weekend; an act that series officials decided placed him in breach of Sections 12.1 and 12.8 of the NASCAR Rule Book. In addition to the ban, Kenseth was placed on probation for six months.

Kenseth's final appeal hearing was scheduled to get underway at 1pm ET at NASCAR's R&D Center in Charlotte.