Martin’s car fails inspection UPDATE 2 Penalized 25 points/ Roush may appeal: #6-Mark Martin finished second at Rockingham and appeared had cut #20-Tony Stewart’s lead in the Winston Cup standings from 146 to 87 points. But during post-race inspection, NASCAR discovered that the left-front spring on Martin’s Ford did not have the minimum requirement of 4½ coils – it had 4 3/8 coils. NASCAR spokesperson Danielle Frye said penalties would not be announced until Monday at the earliest, but the same violation has drawn fines and 25-point penalties earlier this season. A similar points penalty would leave Martin 112 points back with two races remaining.(ThatsRacin.com)(11-3-2002) UPDATE: NASCAR officials announced today penalties for the #6 Ford team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series because of a rule violation found following Sunday’s race at North Carolina Speedway. Mark Martin, driver of the #6 Ford, has been penalized 25 series championship points. In addition, Martin’s team owner Jack Roush has been penalized 25 car owner points. A $5,000 fine was issued to crew chief Ben Leslie. All three were penalized under Section 12-4-Q in the NASCAR Winston Cup rule book (“Any determination by NASCAR officials that parts and/or equipment used in the event do not conform to NASCAR rules.”), because of an unapproved front spring. The left front coil spring on the #6 Ford had approximately 4 3/8 (four-and-three-eighths) coils. The required minimum number of coils is 4 1/2 (four-and-one-half). This is the third time this season officials have taken points from NASCAR Winston Cup teams because of unapproved coil springs.(NASCAR PR) Martin now has 4437 points (4462-25), which puts him down 112 points now. [see my Penalties page for the past points deductions](11-4-2002) UPDATE 2: Roush Racing President Geoff Smith says the team may appeal NASCAR’s decision to take away 25 Winston Cup points from Mark Mark because his car had an unapproved spring in Sunday’s race at North Carolina Speedway. “We are evaluating all avenues of recourse available to us, including invoking the NASCAR appeals process and have asked our outside counsel to assess our options for recourse against the manufacturer and distributor of the spring,” Smith said today. “We quite naturally are upset that we received exactly the same penalty as that imposed on two other teams that altered springs with the expectation of obtaining a performance advantage.” NASCAR said Roush Racing’s No. 6 Ford was found with an improper left front spring after Martin drove it to second place in the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400. The sanctioning body penalized Martin 25 driver points, took away 25 car owner points from team owner Jack Roush and fined crew chief Ben Leslie $5,000 because the spring had 4 3/8 coils instead of the m ndated 4 1/2. NASCAR noted that it was the third time this year that a driver and team had lost points because of spring problems. Martin, who has finished second in the Winston Cup championship three times, said the “unaltered spring… had no performance difference…. I feel like we just got the death sentence for shoplifting. Everyone in the garage knows that it was an honest mistake and provided absolutely zero advantage at that track.” If the penalty stands Martin will go into the season’s final two races 112 points behind championship leader Tony Stewart.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(11-5-2002)
