Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
It seems as though the hammer has been dropped by NASCAR in the Sprint Cup Series already.
NASCAR announced on Wednesday, March 2 that they have suspended Martin Truex Jr.’s crew chief Cole Pearn for a single Sprint Cup Series following a rule violation that was found during pre-race technical inspection at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Additionally, Pearn was fined $50,000 with Treux Jr. losing 15 championship driver points, and team owner Barney Visser losing 15 championship owner points.
The violation at Atlanta Motor Speedway for Pearn concerns the the roof flaps.
Furniture Row Racing has announced that they will appeal the penalty, which means Pearn’s suspension and fine are deferred until the appeal hearing.
“Due to the severity of the P3 penalty levied against Furniture Row Racing and its crew chief Cole Pearn today (Wednesday), the No. 78 Sprint Cup team has informed NASCAR it will appeal the decision. The infraction, which was immediately corrected following technical inspection at Atlanta Motor Speedway last week, was safety related and not competition related. We sincerely appreciate that NASCAR has an appeal process so we can review the level of the penalty.”
Pearn was already on probation through December 31 entering Atlanta Motor Speedway following issues with the roof flaps before Coors Pole Award qualifying for the Daytona 500.
A.J. Allmendinger’s No. 47 JTG Daughtry Entry was found in violation of the rules during pre-qualifying inspection, surrounding the rear wheel crush panel. Crew Chief Randall Burnett was fined $15,000 and placed on probation through the rest of the year, with Allmendinger penalized 10 driver points, and JTG Daughtry penalized 10 owner points.
All three of the Richard Childress Racing cars, as well as their affiliate Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing, was found in violation of Rule 20.4 e during pre-qualifying inspection, which states, “Unless otherwise stated, all body attachment mounts and supports used to connect body components to the chassis must be constructed of magnetic steel round tubing with a minimum outside diameter of 0.168 inch and a maximum outside diameter of 0.5 inch. All body attachment mounts and supports must be non-adjustable and completely welded at both ends“.
As a result, each of the crew chiefs were fined $15,000 points and placed on probation through the rest of the year, with each driver being penalized 10 driver points and each team penalized 10 owner points. Childress fields entries in the Sprint Cup Series for Austin Dillon, Paul Menard and Luke Lambert, while Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing fields the No. 95 with Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon splitting the ride; McDowell was behind the wheel at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
