Circle Sport will appeal the penalty and fines levied on the #33 Sprint Cup team by NASCAR on March 25th. Team owner Joe Falk told Motorsport.com he felt “the penalty was too severe”. The P4 infraction stemmed from an illegal rear truck trailing arm and assembly kit which was mounted incorrectly according to the NASCAR rule book. The suspension piece was discovered during pre-practice inspection at Auto Club Speedway. Falk said modifications made to the rule book following the incident at Auto Club 400 would have changed the spirit of the rule. NASCAR released the new rules regarding the rear suspension along with drawings of the revisions on March 24. But at the time of the #33 Circle Sport Chevy’s inspection on the previous Friday, the rules were not in place. The penalties included a three-race suspension for crew chief Richard “Slugger” Labbe and a $50,000 fine. Labbe is on probation until the end of the year. Car owner Joe Falk was docked 25 championship car owner points. Falk didn’t believe the punishment fit the crime, particularly the 25 points. Falk conceded that “25 is like taking two races from us” considering that the #33 car’s average finish this season is 28th. “We really think that we’re in the right – we’re not 100% right – but we’re not as wrong as they’re saying,” Falk added. Falk expects the hearing to be held after next weekend’s races at Texas Motor Speedway. Alex Kennedy will pilot the #33 Chevy with veteran crew chief Pat Tryson calling the shots.(Motorsport). Tryson had been the crew chief for the #30 TMG team, but that team is running a part-time schedule with driver Ron Hornaday. The team skipped the three west coast races in March, but attempted Martinsville last week, failing to qualify. The #30 is not entered the Texas race.(4-3-2015)
