Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
NASCAR announced on Friday, April 17 that Richard Childress Racing will make a final appeal to the NASCAR’s final appeals officer, former Gulfstream executive Bryan Moss, with regards to the tire penalties suffered post-Auto Club Speedway. The appeal date has yet to be decided or announced.
On Thursday, April 16, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel heard the appeal from Richard Childress Racing with regards to the P5 penalty issued against them following the race at Auto Club Speedway. The appeals panel made the decision to reduce the penalties issued by NASCAR.
NASCAR originally assessed a $175,000 fine ($75,000 plus $50,000), six-race suspension and probation through December 31 for crew chief Luke Lambert, along with a six-race suspension and probation through December 31 for race engineer Philip Surgen and tire technician James Bender. Lambert, Surgen and Bender have yet to serve any of the races under the suspension. In addition, they penalized Ryan Newman with the loss of 75 (50 plus 25) championship driver points, and Richard Childress with the loss of 75 (50 plus 25) championship owner points.
The appeal panel consisting of John Capels, Hunter Nickell and Dale Pinilis made the decision to reduce the penalty because “there is no written explanation of what constitutes a post-race inspection”. Section 12.5.3.5.3 addresses post-race inspection penalties. Per the NASCAR rulebook, if a P5 level infraction is detected during post-race inspection, than the “Loss of an additional 25 Championship driver and owner points; regardless of whether it was a Championship Race or not” is assessed, along with the “loss of an additional $50,000″.
With those elements removed, Childress will now lose 50 owner points, while Newman loses 50 driver points. In addition, Lambert is now fined $75,000 and suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series races, while being placed on probation till December 31. Bender and Surgen are also still suspended for six races, with probation lasting till the end of the year.
Childress released the following statement following the completion of the appeal.
“I’d like to thank the Appeals Panel for taking the time to hear our appeal today. While they decided to reduce the penalties to the minimum penalties for a P5 violation, I am disappointed that the entire penalty was not overturned given the facts we presented.
“In order for the team to move forward, and focus our efforts on the upcoming races, Luke (Lambert), Phil (Surgen) and James (Bender) will begin serving their suspensions this weekend at Bristol. Veteran crew chief Todd Parrott will fill in as crew chief for this weekend’s race.
“We are still discussing our options and have not yet determined whether to appeal the penalties to the Final Appeals Officer.”
The original rules that the team was found in violation of are listed below as per the NASCAR press release.
12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
20.16: Wheels and tires
- Any device, modification, or procedure to the tire or wheel, including the valve stem hardware, that is used to release pressure, beyond normal pressure adjustments, from the tire and/or inner shield, will not be permitted.
20.16.2: Tires
- Modifications to the tires, by treatment or any other means, will not be permitted.
Those infractions result in a P5 penalty, which is explained per section 12.5.3.5.2 of the rulebook.
- A. Loss of 50 championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship race or not
- B. $75,000-$125,000 fine
- Suspension for the next six series Championship Races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, for the crew chief and any other team members as determined by NASCAR
- Probation through the end of the calendar year for all suspended members, or for a six-month period following the issuance of the penalty notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons
