Didn’t we just have this discussion about cheating in motorsports? I could’ve sworn we just did. But when there’s smoke, there’s fire, and in the wake of rumors flying around NASCAR pits that someone was drilling holes into tires to allow air pressure to bleed out before the tire warmed up and sealed itself, NASCAR decided to get proactive and started auditing teams, taking tires post-race for inspection. And wouldn’t you know it…

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 31, 2015) — The No. 31 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has been penalized for rules infractions discovered as a result of NASCAR’s post-event tire audit conducted following the March 22 race at Auto Club Speedway.

 These infractions amount to a P5 level penalty and violate the following Sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book:

12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing

20.16: Wheels and tires

            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.

20.16.2: Tires

            F. Modifications to the tires, by treatment or any other means, will not be permitted.

There are three things that you simply do not screw with on a race car in NASCAR: the engine, the fuel system, and the tires. NASCAR has made it clear that any cheating in any of those three areas will earn the violator a hefty penalty. But how did they earn this penalty?

Section 12.5.3.5.1 lists P5 Penalty Violation examples that could include but are not limited to:

 A. Effecting, modifying and/or altering the standard tires in any way, other than through authorized means such as tire pressure adjustments within the recommended range, permitted tire cooling when mounted on the race vehicle; or heat-cycling on the race vehicle on the race track earlier in the event.

At press time it’s not known what exactly was done to Newman’s tires. We are still suspicious of the science behind tire drilling, but we wouldn’t be surprised if some sort of air-bleed system was in place on Newman’s car. Either way, the inspectors weren’t happy with what they had found. This is bad enough to earn a “P5” penalty on NASCAR’s scale. What does that include?

12.5.3.5.2: Minimum P5 Penalty Options (includes all four points below):

            A. Loss of 50 championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship race or not

            B. $75,000-$125,000 fine

            C. Suspension for the next six series Championship Races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, for the crew chief and any other team members as determined by NASCAR

            D. Probation through the end of the calendar year for all suspended members, or for a six-month period following the issuance of the penalty notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons

 12.5.3.5.3: P5 Level infractions detected during post-race inspection:

If the infraction is detected during post-race inspection, then the following penalty elements will be added to those listed previously in this section:

            A. Loss of an additional 25 Championship driver and owner points; regardless of whether it was a Championship Race or not

            B. Loss of an additional $50,000

As a result of these violations, crew chief Luke Lambert has been fined a total of $125,000 ($75,000 plus $50,000), suspended from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, and been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31. James Bender, team tire technician, and Philip Surgen, team engineer, have been suspended from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, and been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31.

 Driver Ryan Newman and car owner Richard Childress each have been penalized with the loss of 75 (50 plus 25) championship driver and championship car owner points.

Ouch.

“NASCAR takes very seriously its responsibility to govern and regulate the rules of the sport in order to ensure competitive balance,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. “We’ve been very clear that any modifications to race vehicle tires is an unacceptable practice and will not be tolerated.”

Coming from a racing series that is not only known, but vaunted for drivers and crews to find, ahem, ‘creative’ methods of getting an advantage, it seems to be almost hypocritical for NASCAR to be this heavy-handed, but in this case there’s a huge safety issue that has to be considered. If a crew puts in a slightly over bored engine, all you get is a faster car. If a drilled tire lets go while the car is diving into a turn at 185 miles an hour, a ton of bad things are going to follow suit.

Richard Childress Racing has already issued a statement regarding the penalty. As reported by ESPN:

“We understand the seriousness of the penalty,” RCR President Torrey Galida said in a statement. “In fact, 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.”

Good luck with that, guys. NASCAR had pulled tires from Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Martin Truex, Jr, Matt Kenseth and A.J. Allmendinger over the course of three races in order to sniff out where the tire bleeding rumor was coming from. Originally Kevin Harvick was eyed as the most likely culprit, but excepting Newman, every other driver’s tires passed the tests. This just knocked Newman from sixth in points to 26th in points in one shot and, short a miracle run for the next few races, has probably sank his chances of making The Chase.