Another secret fine for Ryan Newman?

Is this possible? Did NASCAR impose a $50,000 fine against Ryan Newman for purportedly hitting Juan Pablo Montoya a few weeks back? 

     Related story:  Newman demonstrates class; Montoya not so much; jury still out on NASCAR

If what I heard today is true, the jury is no longer out on this issue as the above story implies. In fact, if this is true, NASCAR has crossed the line. If this is true, I am outraged.

Image via CrunchBaseToday, while I was checking Twitter, there was mention of a secret fine against Newman for the alleged altercation he had with Juan Pablo Montoya in the NASCAR hauler. No one is talking. No one will admit anything. 

NASCAR should have learned its lesson about keeping secrets from fans that have made the sport what it is; fans that support it. Fans were furious when NASCAR imposed secret fines against Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman. The two were fined for speaking their minds.

Whether there has been a secret fine or this is an ugly rumor, I stand behind a previous post on chontrack entitled, NASCAR, media should stick to racing not driver behavior. 

Ryan Newman needs a new race car

Image via WikipediaWhat's up with Ryan Newman?

Prior to Sunday's race at Kansas Motor Speedway, I read a story about Ryan Newman driving a "used car." It was a quirky little story about the chassis for Newman's Haas Automation Chevy being a vintage 2009. Running at Kansas would be its 15th start.

The story by Dustin Long, indicated that races are being won by drivers driving new or nearly new cars.

Newman's Crew Chief Tony Gibson explained away retiring this "used car," chassis # 39-531, according to the story by saying the car had good karma. 

I didn't hear that from Ryan Newman Sunday as he tried to command the thing around the race track without brushing the wall too many times. Newman was not happy and the car was the reason.

Just days prior to Long's story, The Ledger.com ran a story entitled, "NASCAR: Stewart's Step Up Requires Cold Cash." The title speaks for itself.

While I don't want to jump to conclusions, those two stories seem to fit together like tires on a race track. I'd hate to think that Newman is simply a victim of frugality. He had been on such a hot streak, but during the last several races, complaints about his race car have accelerated faster than a double-file restart with three laps to go. This situation coupled with the news that General Motors is planning to cut back on support for Hendrick and Stewart-Haas Racing really causes me concern.

The economy is a problem; we all feel it. I'll keep going to Burger King, and eating Tornados, so let's take Ryan Newman new car shopping.