Roush Racing might file appeal on Wednesday

CONCORD, N.C. -- If Roush Racing does in fact opt to file an appeal to NASCAR's 25-point penalty, it won't come until Wednesday's deadline, team president Geoff Smith told NASCAR.com on Monday.

	Mark Martin: 89 points behind Tony Stewart Credit: Autostock

The penalty was issued after NASCAR found what it deemed an illegal left front spring on Mark Martin's Ford following the Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway two weeks ago. The spring in question included 4 3/8 coils, 1/8 of a coil shorter than NASCAR's required 4 1/2 coils.

"No, we're not quite ready," Smith said. "We took the opportunity these past few days for everyone to have a cool down period, where we could all soberly look at the facts and circumstances, hear what our competitors had to say and the media had to say about our situation.

"I left Phoenix with what I considered good information, but there were no competitors taking a position that was different than ours. There was no one saying anything that said it made any performance difference whatsoever, and also got to see if those 25 points are likely or are not likely to make any difference in the championship."

They do. Martin's current 89-point deficit to leader Tony Stewart would be just 64 points were the penalty not levied.

Smith maintains that all competitors queried said the miniscule difference in the spring makes no competitive difference on the racetrack. Sources close to the team also maintain that the part came from a NASCAR-approved manufacturer.

Follow Stewart, Martin  Follow the two championship contenders in real time -- watch the Winston Cup season finale on PitCommand!

"Hopefully NASCAR had a chance to consider those things as well," Smith said. "So we'll hold off here for now. I want to use the whole period of time available to us to be sure we don't miss anything."

Martin finished second at Rockingham and fourth at Phoenix, and is the only other driver aside from Stewart with a mathematical chance at winning the title.

If Stewart finishes 22nd or better he will be the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup champion, regardless of what Martin does. He'll also take the title if he finishes 24th or better and leads at least one lap, or finishes 25th or better and leads the most laps.

If Stewart experiences trouble and finishes last at Homestead, Martin would have to finish 13th or better to win his first Winston Cup title.