RCR appeals tire penalty to final appeals officer

Richard Childress Racing isn't satisfied with the decision it got from NASCAR's appeals panel Thursday.

The team has decided to appeal its tire penalty from California to NASCAR's final appeals officer. NASCAR's appeal panel upheld the violation for manipulating tires but reduced the penalty assessed to the team by 25 points to 50 (and crew chief Luke Lambert's fine by $50,000) on administrative grounds.

NASCAR teams are granted two attempts at a penalty appeal.

The deferral of the suspensions means that Lambert, tire tech James Bender and engineer Philip Surgen can work at Bristol. The three were suspended for six races for the penalty and the suspensions were upheld on Thursday.

Early season discussion in the garage mentioned the rumor of teams poking holes in tires to help regulate air pressure throughout the duration of a tire run. Lower air pressures mean more grip, and therefore more speed.

RCR's penalty was initially 75 points because the violation was found after the race. However, since tires are leased and can be taken during the race, the panel ruled the post-race penalty wasn't applicable and dropped the penalty to 50 points.

Newman is currently 20th in the standings with the 50-point penalty.

NASCAR's final appeals officer is Bryan Moss. Moss has already heard an appeal this year after Kurt Busch was suspended before the Daytona 500 because of domestic abuse allegations. After Busch's initial appeal was denied, he appealed a second time the day before the race and Moss denied his appeal. Busch was reinstated three races into the season after he wasn't criminally charged.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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