Analysis: RCR penalty means NASCAR won't tolerate tire trickery

If you needed any proof just how serious NASCAR takes tire violations, that proof was delivered late Tuesday afternoon, when the sanctioning body dropped the hammer on the Richard Childress Racing No. 31 team and driver Ryan Newman.

Newman was fined 75 points -- the equivalent of nearly two full races -- and his crew chief Luke Lambert was fined $125,000 and suspended for six races after tires taken from his No. 31 RCR Chevrolet following the April 22 Auto Club Speedway race were found to have been altered to release air pressure.

In levying the penalties, NASCAR cited section 20.16.1 of its rule book:

"A. 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."

Section 20.16.2, "F. Modifications to the tires, by treatment or any other means, will not be permitted," was also mentioned.

For weeks, there have been rumors in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage that some teams were drilling a series of tiny holes in their tires -- 0.010 to 0.015 inches -- to slowly bleed air out of their tires during the races. When fresh tires are added during a pit stop, they have very low air pressure, which increases as the run goes on and temperatures go up. Bleeding air from the tires helps keep the air pressure lower, which in turn adds grip.

RCR was implicated in a similar scandal way back in 2006 after the New Hampshire Motor Speedway race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. At that time, it was reported that RCR was drilling microscopic holes in its rims to bleed air out, a charge which team officials emphatically denied. RCR was not found to have done anything illegal at the time.

This is the second time in less than a year that NASCAR has come down harshly for a rules violation.

After last year's Brickyard 400, driver Denny Hamlin, crew chief Darian Grubb and Joe Gibbs Racing were whacked with 75-point/$125,000 penalties virtually identical in punishment to what RCR got this time.

Hamlin, who finished third in the Brickyard, was dinged for "approved parts that fail or are improperly installed to fail in their intended use of great importance (e.g.; rear wheel well panels that fail and allow air evacuation in the trunk area; oil box cover that fails and allows air evacuation in the driver compartment; shifter boot cover that fails and allows air evacuation through the floor pan)," according to NASCAR.

In both cases, NASCAR levied what it calls P5 penalties, its second-most serious level of infraction on a scale that runs from P1 to P6.

As a result of the 75-point penalty, Newman's point total drops from 180 to 105, and he falls all the way from sixth in the standings to 27th. This early in the season, it isn't a crippling blow to his championship chances, but it certainly doesn't help.

RCR president Torrey Galida released a statement Tuesday, saying, "RCR has been one of the most outspoken opponents against 'tire bleeding' since the rumors began to surface last season. Once NASCAR provides us with the specific details of the infraction, we will conduct a further internal investigation, and evaluate our options for an appeal."

Historically, NASCAR has come down hardest on violations involving engines, fuel and tires.

The most severe penalty in NASCAR history belonged to journeyman Carl Long, who was docked 200 points and fined $200,000 for having an engine that was 0.017 cubic inches too large in a car he had entered in the 2009 Sprint Showdown. It was a non-points race, and an event Long had virtually no chance of winning. Nevertheless, NASCAR came down hard on him.

Long has not competed in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race since and is banned from the Cup garage because he never paid the fine. In recent years, he has run partial schedules in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.