Martin

CONCORD, N.C. -- Roush Racing is considering an appeal of NASCAR's 25-point penalty against Mark Martin and team owner Jack Roush.

Martin finished second Sunday in the Winston Cup race in Rockingham, but his No. 6 Ford failed postrace inspection because the left-front spring did not meet the minimum number of coils.

The driver was docked 25 championship points, Roush lost 25 car owner points and crew chief Ben Leslie was fined $5,000.

Martin, hoping to win his first series championship, is second in the standings with two races remaining and had cut series leader Tony Stewart's points lead to 87. The penalty dropped him 112 points behind heading into Sunday's race in Phoenix.

Geoff Smith, the team president, said Tuesday, "We are evaluating all avenues of recourse available to us, including invoking the NASCAR appeals process, and have asked our outside counsel to assess our options for recourse against the manufacturer and distributor of the spring.

"We quite naturally are upset that we received exactly the same penalty as that imposed on two other teams that altered springs with the expectation of obtaining a performance advantage."

The team has until Nov. 13 to appeal the penalties in writing to the National Stock Car Racing Commission.

"Twenty-five points for using an unaltered spring that had no performance difference from a spring a quarter-inch longer; I feel like we just got the death sentence for shoplifting," Martin said.

"Everyone in the garage knows that it was an honest mistake and provided absolutely zero advantage at that track. ... This is a pretty steep penalty for what is essentially a meaningless violation."

Leslie said the team used a spring made by a NASCAR-approved manufacturer exactly as it came out the box in which it was shipped to the Roush race shop.

A NASCAR spokesman said the sanctioning body would have no comment on the possible appeal.

This is the second time in his career a points deduction could cost Martin a shot at his first Winston Cup title.

Martin was fined 46 driver points in 1990 for an illegal carburetor spacer found on his Roush Racing Ford after a race at Richmond International Raceway. Martin lost the Winston Cup championship that year to Dale Earnhardt by 26 points.

This is the third time this season the No. 6 Ford has been penalized, but the first time points have been taken away.

Leslie was fined $50,000 after Martin's winning car was too low in post-race inspection following the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. He was also fined $1,000 fine for an unapproved window strap at Talladega in October.