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RELATED: Keselowski wins at Martinsville | No. 2 crew on the win
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It didn't take long for a decision to appeal a post-race penalty handed down to the No. 2 Team Penske Team to pay dividends.
Driver Brad Keselowski's appearance in Victory Lane on Sunday following the STP 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race was proof enough of that.
So, too, it seems, was crew chief Paul Wolfe's attendance on the team's pit box.
"Look, I need him on that box every weekend," team owner Roger Penske said of Wolfe. "I told him I'd pay him to be on that box every weekend, not to be sitting in his motor home looking at a bunch of monitors.
"But … really the strategy was that we'd take a race off last week and then make the appeal and I guess we'll be coming back here. … So it was good to get the experience here on this track, obviously, because it'll be in the Chase."
The No. 2 team failed post-race inspection following last month's Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway. As a result, Wolfe was fined $65,000 and suspended for three races. Keselowski was assessed with the loss of 35 driver points and Penske 35 car owner points.
RELATED: Keselowski penalized after Phoenix
No decision on filing an appeal was made until the team had the opportunity to inspect the car at its headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina. In the meantime, Brian Wilson served as the team's interim crew chief at Auto Club Speedway. Keselowski rallied from early problems to finish second in the Auto Club 400.
Wednesday, two days before the start of the Martinsville race weekend, Team Penske officials announced they had requested an appeal hearing and to defer the two remaining races of Wolfe's suspension "until the results of our appeal are known."
"It's tough when you're not there," Wolfe said Sunday evening. "You try to communicate the best with the guys, but there's that little bit that you miss when you're just not sitting on the box and being able to communicate with Brad during the race.
"It's tough not being there, and that's part of why ‑‑ that's the penalty they hand down, because they know it is. I'm just proud of the effort today. It was a good way to come back after not being on the box last week."
Keselowski, the 2012 series champion, said he hadn't considered how he might have fared Sunday without the services of Wolfe.
"Who knows?" he said. "I ain't thinking about that; I'm just glad I got a checkered flag and a clock."