Daytona Beach, Fla. (March 10, 2015) — The No. 51 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has been penalized for a rules infraction discovered during post-race inspection March 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
This infraction is a P3 level penalty and violates the following Sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book:
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.
Ballast was observed falling off the No. 51 car during the race and the No. 51 car did not meet post-race minimum weight requirements.
As a result of the violation, crew chief Steve Addington has been fined $25,000.
The No. 2 team has been penalized for a rules infraction committed when it was discovered that the right and left rear quarter panel wheel openings were modified after qualifying inspection on March 6.
This infraction is a P2 level penalty and violates the following Sections in the 2015 NASCAR 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.
As a result of this violation, crew chief Paul Wolfe has been placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31.
