NASCAR's Pemberton: "We're here to regulate the rulebook"

   Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, addressed the media Friday at Richmond International Raceway about the penalties NASCAR handed down to Matt Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota team earlier this week.

 

   Here is Pemberton's opening statement:

 

   "Over the last two or three weeks as everybody knows, we've had some significant penalties and they're in all areas of the rule book.  We're here to not judge these penalties, whether they are performance enhancing, but we're really here just to regulate the rule book.

 

   "We've got the rules in play. They're put there a lot of times by NASCAR, but with input from the teams, manufacturers and outside experts, and it's our job to manage those rules and manage that rule book as it relates to the garage area. The emphasis, as everyone knows, it's about safety, it's about competition, and it's about cost‑containment.

 

   "So moving forward it's our job to just regulate the rule book. In the rule book there are different facets and we've put parameters in that are weights, measures, heights, dimensions coordinates to build chassis and bodies, and it's in quite detail. So the teams know where they can and can't go, and there are areas that they can work in. Those are the areas between the measurements where we do give both ends of it, whether it's high or low or heavy or light.

 

   "That being said, it's like I said, we're not here to judge the performance on any of these.  We are strictly here to regulate the rule book and keep a level playing field for the garage area in which to work and make sure everybody gets a fair chance at competing."