Appeal returns 25 points to Newman
Crew chief ’s fine drops; suspensions remain at six races
CONCORD, N.C. The penalties to Richard Childress Racing ’s No. 31 team were upheld by an appeals panel Thursday, but the severity of some elements were reduced after a lengthy hearing.
RCR had appealed NASCAR’s March 31 penalties for illegally manipulated tires that were confiscated from Ryan Newman’s car after the Auto Club Speedway race. The tires were sent to an independent lab for analysis.
The three-member panel agreed with NASCAR’s case but reduced Newman’s points deduction from 75 points to 50 and crew chief Luke Lambert’s fine from $125,000 to $75,000.
But it kept six-race suspensions for Lambert, engineer Philip Surgen and tire technician James Bender. Team owner Richard Childress said in a statement Thursday that they would begin serving their suspensions at Bristol Motor Speedway this Sunday. Todd Parrott will fill in as crew chief. Childress said the team still was considering whether it will appeal to Bryan Moss, chief appellate officer.
In a statement, the panel of John Capels, Hunter Nickell and Dale Pinilis said penalties were reduced because “there is no written explanation of what constitutes a postrace inspection.”
Lambert spoke to reporters briefly after the ruling was announced. “I’m thankful today to have had the opportunity to present our facts to the appeals panel, and I appreciate their consideration of those facts to reduce the fine and reduce the points penalty,” Lambert said. “However, I am disappointed in the decision not to completely overturn the penalty based on the facts we presented today.”
Because of the additional 25 points, Newman moves from 24th to 20th in the Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Before the penalty, rumors had been swirling around the garage for months that some teams were poking small holes in their tires in order to “bleed” them while on the racetrack. Since air pressure builds throughout the course of a run, slowly releasing air could help the grip level and increase durability.
NASCAR responded by taking several tires at Phoenix International Raceway, Auto Club and then Martinsville Speedway, sending the Auto Club race tires away for a more thorough investigation.
The team most people preferred to point the finger at — 2014 Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick and his No. 4 Chevrolet team at Stewart-Haas Racing — was cleared.
Besides taking Harvick’s car on multiple occasions (standard procedure for a team that finishes first or second in a race), NASCAR twice took the No. 4 car’s tires.
But nothing was found, which backed up crew chief Rodney Childers’ claim of innocence.
RCR thought it had a case to have the penalty overturned, and Lambert — along with team owner Richard Childress, Surgen and Bender — spent hours in front of the appeals panel.