RCR appealing penalties to Newman, No. 31 team

Newman was penalized 75 points and his crew chief Luke Lambert was fined $125,000 among other penalties after NASCAR determined the team illegally altered air pressures in its tires during a March 22 event at Auto Club Speedway.
 
Following the Auto Club 400 and an audit of tires taken from four teams, NASCAR sent the tires an outside agency for further evaluation.

The 75-point loss dropped Newman from sixth to 26th in the points standings after six races. One of last year's drivers in the Championship 4 round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Newman, 37, has four top-10 finishes this season.
 
Tire audits have been conducted after the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events as rumors of teams illegally altering air pressures swirled through the garage. By allowing air to escape from tires as they heat up, more of the tire's surface remains in contact with the race track, providing more grip consistently throughout a run.
 
According to the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rulebook, "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."
 
Penalties for such infractions are classified as P5 level by NASCAR, and in this case resulted in the loss of 75 championship driver and car owner points for Newman and car owner Richard Childress; a $125,000 fine and six-race suspension for Lambert; and six-race suspensions for team tire technician James Bender and team engineer Philip Surgen.
 
Lambert, Bender and Surgen have also been placed on probation through Dec. 31.
 
Sprint Cup Series Managing Director Richard Buck said Monday that teams were reminded of the severity of penalties for tire infractions during a meeting with crew chiefs on Friday at Martinsville Speedway.
 
"We generally have crew chief meetings where we will address topics and issues with crew chiefs, get information to them," Buck said. "And that was the case at Martinsville. We had several things that we addressed there, but one of the things was the tires."
 
"We reiterated to the garage area that it is very serious; our process has not changed. … We take that very seriously."
 
NASCAR took tires from several teams at Phoenix and again at Martinsville in addition to those taken at ACS. Those from ACS were believed to be the only ones sent to an outside source for further evaluation.
 
"We've been very clear that any modifications to race vehicle tires is an unacceptable practice and will not be tolerated," Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said in regard to the penalties dealt to the No. 31 team.

NASCAR.com's Kenny Bruce contributed to this report.

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