Waltrip Touts Change To Penalty Process

NASCAR Hall Of Famer Darrell Waltrip said Wednesday that he has a plan to revise NASCAR’s current system of assessing a reviewing penalties; a system he contends is simpler, more expedient and fairer to both NASCAR and its competitors.

DW says he has a fix...

“Here’s my beef,” said Waltrip on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I think the system is flawed. It’s not the people. The men and women on that Appeals Board are some of the most knowledgeable people that have ever been in this sport, and it’s not like they don’t know what’s going on. Leo Mehl was with Goodyear for all those years (and) they’ve got a track promoter (Dale Pinilis of North Carolina’s Bowman-Gray Stadium)… they’ve got some good people on that committee.

“Here’s the problem,” he said. “You shouldn’t be found guilty before you’re tried. When you’re at the track and you get a ticket, (NASCAR says), `we’re going to write you up, son, because you did something wrong.’ But they can’t be judge and jury at the same time.

“Here’s what should happen,” he continued. “(NASCAR) finds the infraction and writes the ticket, and now you’ve got to go to court. You go before the Appeals Board and say, `Here’s what happened, here’s what NASCAR says I did. Now, what’s my punishment?’”

Under the current system, Waltrip said it is difficult for the Appeals Board to overturn a penalty that has been assessed by NASCAR weeks before, at the race track. “The decision has already been made,” he complained. “What’s the board supposed to say, `Forget all that, we’re going to overturn it?’ That’s pretty tough to do.”

The three-time Sprint Cup Series champion said NASCAR should maintain its authority to confiscate questionable parts – or even an entire race car -- at the track, while ceding the penalty phase to the NSCRC. “NASCAR can do everything they do now, except assess a fine,” he said. “That’s up to the Appellate Board. They’re unbiased. They look at all of the facts, see what got you in trouble, listen to what both sides have to say and assess a penalty.

“I think they’ve got all the right elements here,” said Waltrip. “They’ve just got them in the wrong order.”