March 13, 2012
NASCAR Wire Service
The
National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel upheld penalties issued to the
No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team Tuesday, keeping Jimmie Johnson outside
the top 20 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings.
After
a five-hour appeal hearing at NASCAR's research and development center
in Concord, N.C., the three-member panel unanimously ruled to retain the
original penalties for illegal modifications to Johnson's No. 48 car
for the Daytona 500.
Johnson's
car flunked pre-race inspection Feb. 17 before the season-opening race,
held 10 days later. The "C" posts that connect the roof to the rear
deck lid were confiscated after officials ruled the bodywork
measurements to be too far out of tolerance to fit NASCAR templates.
On
Feb. 29, NASCAR docked Johnson and his team 25 points apiece for the
violations and suspended crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec
six races each. Knaus was also assessed a $100,000 fine.
Hendrick
Motorsports indicated that it would request an appeal to Chief
Appellate Officer John Middlebrook, the final level of the process. The
decision means Knaus will remain on the pit box for Johnson's No. 48
this weekend at Bristol, Tenn.
"The
panel was generous with its time today, and we appreciated the
opportunity to talk through our concerns," said Rick Hendrick, owner of
Hendrick Motorsports. "We feel strongly about this issue and will
continue to pursue it at the next level."
After
his second-place run last weekend at Las Vegas, Johnson stands 23rd in
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points, 64 behind standings leader Greg Biffle.
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