Crew chief Lambert, two other crew members to miss next six races
RELATED: National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer statement
CONCORD, N.C. -- National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss let stand penalties against driver Ryan Newman and his Richard Childress Racing No. 31 team here Wednesday after hearing more than nine hours of testimony from officials with the Sprint Cup Series organization and the sanctioning body.
The meeting, which got underway at 8:30 a.m. ET at the NASCAR Research and Development Center, was the second attempt by RCR officials to have penalties against Newman and team owner Richard Childress, crew chief Luke Lambert and two other members of the No. 31 team overturned.
Instead, Moss ruled "based on a preponderance of evidence, the appellants violated the rules;" and "based on a preponderance of evidence the penalties are upheld as amended by the National Motorsports Appeals panel."
As a result, the loss of 50 championship driver and owner points will stand, as will Lambert's $75,000 fine and the six-week suspensions of Lambert, team engineer Philip Surgen and tire technician James Bender. Lambert, Surgen and Bender will remain on probation through Dec. 31 as well.
In a prepared statement read to members of the media following the decision, RCR spokesman Tim Packman stated, "We do not agree with the final ruling.
"We feel we had a compelling case; we still feel we were in the right and the facts presented today would have proved that. We appreciate the opportunity to be heard.
"We stand behind our suspended team members and look forward to their return. We will now move on, continue our goals of winning races and making the Chase for the Championship."
With Lambert now sidelined until the series returns to Daytona in July, the No. 31 team will be run by veteran crew chief Todd Parrott.
The case stemmed from penalties handed down March 31 following a tire audit conducted following the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. NASCAR officials took tires from several teams following that event, eventually sending some to an outside agency for further evaluation.
Initially, the No. 31 team was assessed P5 penalties that included the loss of 75 championship driver and owner points as well as a $125,000 fine for Lambert. However, a three-member NASCAR Appeals Panel later reduced the points penalty to 50 for Newman and Childress while reducing Lambert’s fine to $75,000. The panel let stand the six-race suspensions and probation.
As a result of Wednesday’s ruling, Newman remains 14th in driver points as the series prepares to travel to Kansas Speedway for Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 (FOX Sports 1, 7:30 p.m. ET).
The decision of Moss, his second ruling since taking over the role last season, is final.