Truex: Pearn ‘frustrated’ after consecutive roof flap penalties
Martin Truex Jr. said his crew chief Cole Pearn is unhappy the No. 78 team has had roof flap issues in NASCAR inspection the first two weeks of the season.
Truex was penalized 15 points and Pearn was suspended for a race after the team had a roof flap problem at Atlanta. The pre-race issue at Atlanta came after the team didn’t get a chance to make a run in qualifying at Daytona because of a roof flap issue there.
Furniture Row Racing is appealing the penalties, so Pearn won’t serve his suspension until the appeals process is over. Or he won’t serve it at all if the team wins the appeal.
“I think he’s a bit frustrated from how it went down, which is understandable,” Truex said Friday at Las Vegas. “I think people in the garage area talk and he feels like, ‘Do people really think I’m stupid enough after what happened at Daytona to try to pull something on NASCAR in the same area?’
“He’s a little frustrated by that side of it, but at the same time, being it’s a safety issue, it’s really a big deal to figure out exactly how it all happened. Figure out how to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. We’ll go through the appeals process.”
The team is appealing on the grounds that the problem with the roof flap was a safety issue rather than one that could gain a competitive edge. Truex fell from second to 10th in the points standings with the 15-point penalty — assuming it is upheld upon appeal.
And if Pearn’s suspension sticks, Truex said he doesn’t think his absence will be a big deal for the team.
“If it were six races, I would say yes,” Truex said. “Being that it’s one, I don’t think we’ll miss a step. We have a lot of good people we can plug in to call the race and obviously Cole will be a huge part of getting our car to the race track the way he wants it and helping us get through the weekend setup-wise and making decisions.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
