NASCAR penalizes Ryan Newman, Richard Childress Racing for illegal tires

NASCAR heavily penalized Ryan Newman and the No. 31 Richard Childress team Tuesday for tires that were illegally modified at Auto Club Speedway.

The penalties include Newman losing 75 driver points and crew chief Luke Lambert receiving a six-race suspension and $125,000 fine. Team engineer Philip Surgen and tire specialist James Bender were also suspended six races.

Following the March 22 race at ACS, NASCAR conducted an “audit” where officials confiscated the tires off the cars of Newman and RCR teammate Paul Menard, in addition to Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch of Stewart-Haas Racing. The tires were sent to a third party for inspection, with only Newman’s found in violation.

NASCAR determined Newman’s tires were not compliant with a rule barring “any modifications to the tire or wheel, including the valve stem hardware, that is used to release pressure.” Any infractions pertaining to tires, engines or fuel usually result in significant sanctions.

“NASCAR takes very seriously its responsibility to govern and regulate the rules of the sport in order to ensure competitive balance,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “We’ve been very clear that any modifications to race vehicle tires is an unacceptable practice and will not be tolerated.”

Since last year there’s been rampant speculation that teams were drilling small holes in tires to slowly bleed air out, a tactic legal in many other racing disciplines. The practice provides better grip by relieving air pressure built up over long runs, which allows drivers to maintain faster speeds.

Several drivers and crew chiefs, including Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson, acknowledged the rumors that some teams were illegally manipulating their tires by drilling small holes last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin even called for anyone found cheating to be banned for life.

“Definitely no room for it in the sport, that’s for sure,” Hamlin said. “Hope they clamp down on that if they do find it and if they find it multiple times with somebody, they should have a permanent vacation somewhere.”

When asked if he was concerned about any potential penalties, Newman stated he “wasn’t worried about anything.” In a statement Tuesday, RCR again denied any wrongdoing and said the team plans to appeal the penalties.

“We understand the seriousness of the penalty,” the team said in a statement. “In fact, RCR has been one of the most outspoken opponents against ‘tire bleeding’ since the rumors began to surface last season. Once NASCAR provides us with the specific details of the infraction we will conduct a further internal investigation, and evaluate our options for an appeal.”

By losing 75 points, Newman, who finished runner-up in the championship to Harvick last year, drops from sixth in the standings to 27th overall.

Although he is still eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff, Newman essentially needs earn a regular season win to qualify -- something he hasn’t accomplished since July 2013 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.