Charlotte, NC – NASCAR announced on Tuesday the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel will hear Penske Racing's appeal of penalties to its No. 2 and No. 22 Sprint Cup Series teams on May 1.
Penske's appeal will be heard by a three-member committee, and it will be conducted at NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. Last week, NASCAR issued severe penalties to both Penske teams for infractions discovered during pre-race inspection on April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Race officials discovered unapproved suspension systems and components on Brad Keselowski's No. 2 car and Joey Logano's No. 22 car.
Seven team members from Penske each received suspensions from six points- paying races as well as next month's all-star event. Those members suspended include: Keselowski's crew chief, Paul Wolfe, car chief, Jerry Kelley, team engineer, Brian Wilson, and team manager, Travis Geisler, as well as Logano's crew chief, Todd Gordon, car chief, Raymond Fox, and team engineer, Samuel Stanley.
Wolfe and Gordon were each fined $100,000 and placed on probation for the remainder of the year.
Furthermore, Keselowski and Logano both received a loss of 25 points. Roger Penske, who is listed as the owner of Keselowski's No. 2 car, and Walt Czarnecki, the owner of Logano's No. 22 car, were docked 25 points as well. Keselowski is the defending Sprint Cup champion.
If the appeals panel upholds the penalties, Penske does have the option to make a final appeal in front of National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook.
Since Penske is appealing, the suspensions have not gone into effect for its team members. All of them were at Kansas Speedway this past weekend. They will be eligible to participate at Richmond International Raceway later this week.
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