Last month NASCAR penalized Ryan Newman for a safety violation when he failed to wear all of the equipment required by a driver during a race.

Newman appealed the penalty and it was sent to The National Motorsports Appeals Panel – a three member panel.

In an attempt to make it as safe as possible for the drivers to race in a dangerous sport, NASCAR requires the drivers to wear fire retardant undergarments, a fire suit capable of withstanding 45 seconds of exposure to fire, a head sock under their helmet, a full face helmet, gloves, and a head and neck restraint to help protect them in case of a crash.

During the race at Homestead-Miami on October 25, Newman removed his head sock – a violation of the NASCAR rule book Section 8.3.2.A  and Sections 14.3.1.1.A&F.  As a result, Newman was fined $10,000.

The Appeals Panel upheld the penalty and Newman will have to pay the fine.  Newman has returned to part time racing after missing the 2022 season.

The Panel noted, “we reached this conclusion because it was demonstrated that he didn’t wear the proper safety equipment during practice and qualifying. In the absence of a specific fine for the infraction, we listened to NASCAR’s description for how they arrived at the $10,000 penalty. However, the panel suggests NASCAR establish a policy that all safety violations have a published range.”