Penalties to Ryan Newman, Richard Childress Racing upheld; severity lessened

An appellant board reduced the monetary and points penalties issued to Richard Childress Racing for doctoring tires Thursday, but upheld the six-race suspensions NASCAR handed to three crew members.

Driver Ryan Newman and team owner Richard Childress each had their originally 75-point penalties scaled back to 50 points and crew chief Luke Lambert’s fine was cut from $125,000 to $75,000. However, Lambert, tire technician James Bender and engineer Philip Surgen must each still serve six-race suspensions.

The three-member panel amended the penalties citing “no written explanation of what constitutes a post-race inspection.” When NASCAR issued the penalties March 30, officials tacked on additional sanctions because the tires found tampered with were taken off Newman’s car during the March 22 at Auto Club Speedway.

On NASCAR’s penalty scale Newman’s infraction is classified as a P5, the second highest. A P5 penalty equates to a loss of 50 driver and owner points and a minimum $75,000 fine. If the infraction is detected during post-race, the penalty increases by 50 points and $50,000.

RCR has the option of pursuing a final appeal to the Chief Appellate Officer. But unlike Wednesday’s hearing, the burden of proof is on the team and not NASCAR.

NASCAR confiscated Newman’s tires and sent them to a third-party for testing that determined the No. 31 team had illegally devised a method to bleed air pressure out while on the track. The practice provides significant advantage, as it gives a driver increased grip and handling over long runs. In addition to the competition component, NASCAR also considers it a safety issue as low air pressure can increase the likelihood of a blowout.

Officials conducted two tire seizures last month. The first occurred at Phoenix International Raceway and then the next week at ACS. In addition to Newman, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano and Paul Menard all had tires taken off their cars. No other tires violations were found.

Rumors of teams poking small holes in its tires date back to last fall and became public at Martinsville Speedway, the race following ACS. Jeff Gordon and his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, each stated March 27 that they believed teams were manipulating tires, as did Denny Hamlin, who said anyone caught cheating should be given a “permanent vacation somewhere.”

That same day, Newman was asked about allegations of tire tampering. He said he believed his team would be cleared of any wrongdoing. Four days later NASCAR penalized the No. 31 team.

“From my standpoint, it’s just a matter of (NASCAR) doing their job,” Newman said. “Whether you’re guilty or you’re not guilty or whatever, that’s their job of keeping the sport at a level playing field. And we’ll see what comes of it. But, I’m not worried about anything.”

With the return of 25 points, Newman moves from 24th to 20th in the Sprint Cup standings.