CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports have indefinitely suspended Eddie D’Hondt, a spotter for Chase Elliott on the No. 9 team, shortly after they were made aware of two misdemeanor charges brought against D’Hondt.
The charges include assault on a female and battery of an unborn child, according to records from the North Carolina Judicial Branch. D’Hondt, 62, was arrested in May in Catawba County, records show.
In September, D’Hondt was charged with assault on a female for striking Irene Elizabeth Young, according to a Criminal Summons record in North Carolina obtained by KickinTheTires.net. An arrest warrant issued on May 12 states that D’Hondt committed battery of an unborn child by pushing Young “with his body on her stomach” while Young was pregnant. D’Hondt’s arraignment court date is set for June 7.
Hendrick Motorsports said in statement that it “became aware of the situation this morning and have immediately and indefinitely suspended Mr. D’Hondt’s role with our company.”
“We are taking this matter very seriously and will continue to seek additional information about the alleged incident,” the statement said.
The team has not named a replacement spotter for the upcoming race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Hendrick Motorsports is coming off a milestone victory last weekend at Circuit of the Americas in which the No. 9 team won its first race of the season to tie the organization with Petty Enterprises at 268 wins in the Cup Series. It was Chevrolet’s 800th win.
On Wednesday, NASCAR announced it indefinitely suspended D’Hondt for violating Member Conduct Guidelines and a Required Notice rule 2.11, which states that, “Any NASCAR Member charged with any violation of the law (misdemeanor and/or felony) shall notify NASCAR ... prior to the next scheduled Event or within 72 hours of being so charged, whichever is earlier.”
