NASCAR penalized two Sprint Cup crew chiefs for infractions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR placed Paul Wolfe, crew chief for Brad Keselowski, on probation through Dec. 31, and fined Steve Addington, crew chief for Justin Allgaier, $25,000 for separate infractions.
NASCAR discovered that Team Penske had modified the right and left rear quarter panel wheel openings on Keselowski’s car after it had gone through inspection for qualifying. The infraction is a P2 violation.
The action violated the following sections of the Sprint Cup Rule Book:
12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing;
20.4.b: Body – All approved OEM-manufactured body components must be used as supplied except as required to stiffen, or to attach to other vehicle components. Tolerances from CAD surfaces and template tolerances are provided to allow for manufacturing, fabrication, and installation variability;
20.4.2: Surface Conformance – Coordinate measuring machines, scanning equipment, and templates, among other tools, will be used to inspect body surfaces for conformance to the approved OEM and NASCAR CAD files.
NASCAR penalized Addington after Allgaier’s car failed to meet minimum weight after placing 31st at Las Vegas. Ballast was observed falling off Allgaier’s car during the race, according to NASCAR.
Harry Scott, president and CEO of HScott Motorsports, said the incident was “unintentional” and that the team will not appeal Addington’s fine.
“The No. 51 experienced a malfunction during the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that resulted in a P3 infraction being assessed to the team by NASCAR,’’ Scott said in a statement. “The issue was unintentional and we regret its occurrence. Going forward, we have implemented additional procedures to ensure that we do not have a repeat incident. We accept NASCAR’s penalty and fully support its efforts to keep the sport as safe as possible for competitors, officials and fans.”
NASCAR cited HScott Motorsports with a P3 violation for:
12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing;
20.3.5: Added ballast containers:
a. Any and all ballast added to the vehicle must be bolted inside an added ballast container, inside the main frame rails, and/or inside the front sway bar.
b. Added ballast must be secured in a manner that will prevent movement of the ballast during an event.
20.17.2.2: Overall vehicle weight after competition:
b. After a vehicle has raced, only water in the radiator, oil in the engine reservoir tank, and fuel in the fuel cell may be added. Wheels and tires may not be changed, unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR Officials.
c. After a vehicle has raced, the minimum overall vehicle weight of all vehicles must be within 0.5% of the minimum overall vehicle weight required at the start of the race.