The National Car Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel upheld the penalties Wednesday to the Penske Racing teams of #2-Brad Keselowski and #22-Joey Logano. Team owner Roger Penske said he would appeal the ruling to National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook. “I can’t make any comments, it’s clear we have a process and I’m better off to wait to see that conclude,” Penske said. “All I can say about the process is it’s fair and equitable. We had an opportunity to explain our case in detail. We will move onto the next step.”
The appeals panel of Pocono Raceway president Brandon Igdalsky, former NASCAR senior vice president Paul Brooks and Bowman-Gray Stadium operator Dale Pinilis took about five hours to hear arguments from both sides and deliberate on the decision. The three-person panel was chosen from a list of 49 eligible members.
“We take our inspection process very seriously,” NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said. “We believe we do a strong and credible job with it. The level playing field in the garage we believe is the best it’s ever been. As the sanctioning body, we have to uphold the rules and regulations in the rulebook. The inspection process we believe in very strongly.” Sprint Cup director John Darby presented NASCAR’s side.
Team owner Roger Penske attended the hearing with chief lieutenants Walt Czarnecki (vice president of Penske Corp.) and Tim Cindric (Penske Racing president). Team manager Travis Geisler and crew chiefs Paul Wolfe (Keselowski) and Todd Gordon (Logano) also were present. (USA Today)
