NASCAR indefinitely suspended Eddie D'Hondt, the spotter for the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team, on Wednesday after learning more about his arrest in North Carolina earlier this month.
D'Hondt was arrested on May 12 in Hickory, N.C., on charges of battery of an unborn child and assault on a female, per the NASCAR website.
NASCAR rules state that being charged with “significant criminal violations” is grounds for suspension.
The Hendrick team also suspended D'Hondt on Wednesday. He is the spotter for defending NASCAR Cup Series champion driver Chase Elliott.
“We became aware of the situation this morning and have immediately and indefinitely suspended Mr D'Hondt's role with our company,” a team statement said. “We are taking this matter very seriously and will continue to seek additional information about the alleged incident.”
Hendrick Motorsports hasn't named a substitute spotter for the No. 9 team, which will race in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend.
D'Hondt has worked with Elliott since 2016. He also is a spotter in the Xfinity Series for the JR Motorsports No. 7 team and driver Justin Allgaier, as well as for driver Austin Hill and the Hattori Racing Enterprises No. 16 team in the Camping World Truck Series.
He previously was a Cup Series spotter for Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch.
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