Ultimate ruling on P5 penalties to be decided at NASCAR R&D Center
RELATED: Meet the National Motorsports Appeals Panel
NASCAR officials announced Friday that Richard Childress Racing‘s final appeal of P5 penalties will be heard Wednesday, May 6 at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.
The Childress organization seeks to overturn or lessen severe penalties assessed March 31 against its No. 31 Chevrolet team and driver Ryan Newman for a tire infraction discovered during the March 22 race at Auto Club Speedway. The final hearing is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Some elements of the punishment were reduced April 16 by a three-member panel, but the P5 severity stood. One day later, NASCAR officials indicated that Childress had filed the necessary paperwork to request a final hearing before National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss.
In outlining the initial penalty, the sanctioning body subtracted 75 points from Newman’s total in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings and the same amount from Childress in the series’ car owner standings. NASCAR also handed down a $125,000 fine and issued six-race suspensions (plus probation through Dec. 31) for No. 31 crew chief Luke Lambert and two RCR crew members.
The three-member National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the original ruling, reducing the fine to $75,000 and revising the points deduction from 75 points to 50. The penalty, however, still fit under the heading of P5 — the second-most severe infraction according to the NASCAR deterrence system, implemented ahead of the 2014 season.
After the panel ruled last Thursday, veteran crew chief Todd Parrott filled in for Lambert during Friday’s on-track activity at Bristol Motor Speedway. Shortly after Coors Light Pole Qualifying late Friday afternoon, NASCAR officials indicated that the Childress organization would pursue a final appeal.
Saturday morning, Lambert returned to the track with his suspension deferred. Sunday, he helped guide Newman to a fifth-place finish in Sunday’s race at Bristol.
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