1974 NASCAR International Stock Car Racing Rule Book Section 14 -- Protests

1. Any affected NASCAR member may, as a matter of right, protest any violation of the NASCAR Rules including specifications and entry blank terms and conditions, to the NASCAR official in charge of the event and to the NASCAR Competition Director subject to the following:

a. Protests involving a particular event first shall be brought to the attention of the NASCAR official in charge of the event by the protestant as soon as the alleged violation or official's decision involving same is discovered by the protestant, and must also be filed in writing with said official by the protestant not later than fifteen minutes after completion of the event in which the alleged violation occurred. Each seperate protest shall be accompanied by $100.00 protest fee.

b. If the parties to the protest do not accept the decision of the NASCAR official in charge of the event on the protest, the written protest shall be forwarded by the NASCAR official in charge of the event, along with the race report, and the protest fee to the NASCAR Competition Director at NASCAR Headquarters; except in the case of events conducted on the West Coast, wherein the protest, race report and fee shall be forwarded to the following for adjudication and thence to the NASCAR Competition Director if the parties do not accept the decision of the respective field managers:

c. Protests which arise other than out of a particular event shall be filed by the protestant in writing with the NASCAR Competition Director at NASCAR Headquarters with the $100.00 protest fee.

d. Protests shall not be accepted which concern either the decision of the Official Scorer for an event, with respect to timing and scoring, and any re-check thereof by NASCAR Headquarters (see Section 11, paragraph 2) or which concern decisions by NASCAR officials assigned to an event with respect to race procedure (see Section 11, paragraph 1).

e. After a protest is made on engine specifications, an engine cooling period of 30 minutes shall be allowed. If after this time limit, the competitor has not started dismantling engine, the car will be disqualified.

f. Protests involving local track or ground rules or a NASCAR rule specifying a minimum or maximum tolerance in racing equipment, such as piston displacement, wheelbase, etc., shall be determined by NASCAR officials at the track and are not appealable [sic] or the proper subject of a protest to the NASCAR Competition Director, or an appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission or the Commissioner.

g. Any protest involving the driver of a car may be filed by the driver involved or a member of the crew designated by the driver; however, if the protest is not upheld, only the driver has the right of appeal thereof and he cannot designate any other person to make that appeal.

h. All visual protests shall be made prior to start of feature event. All visual protests made after start of feature event will be void. (A "visual protest" is a protest which does not require any type of a measuring device to establish the legality of any part of an automobile.)

i. In events where pre-race technical inspections are conducted, no technical protests will be accepted later than 24 hours prior to scheduled start of race.

2. If the Competition Director or the appropriate field manager sustains a protest, the protest fee shall be returned to the protesting member and the losing member, if any, shall pay all costs incurred by NASCAR officials in determining the protest. If the protest is not sustained, the $100.00 protest fee shall be forfeited, and the protesting member shall pay all costs incurred by NASCAR officials in determining the protest. When the protest is not sustained, the member against whom the protest is made shall be entitled to compensation not exceeding the amount of the protest fee for any preparation he is required to make for the purpose of determining the outcome of the protest, and such compensation shall be paid from the protest fee by NASCAR.

3. Any NASCAR member who has submitted a protest which has not been sustained by the NASCAR Competition Director, shall have the right to a protest hearing before the NASCAR Competition Director or his designee at NASCAR Headquarters, or wherever else NASCAR may designate, if such member shall mail such request for a hearing to NASCAR Headquarters within not more than 10 days from date of the written notice of said action by the NASCAR Competition Director, along with an additional $100.00 protest fee. In any such hearing, the member shall have the right to appear in his own behalf, and to present witnesses and documentary evidence. The decision of the NASCAR Competition Director or his designee in this regard is final and is not appealable [sic].