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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCARs playoffs are set to begin with a new set of rules that gives the sanctioning body the power to issue far stiffer penalties -- so stringent that a driver could lose the championship if his team fails inspection.The increased penalties announced Wednesday give NASCAR the authority to levy a harsh penalty should a car fail a post-race trip to the Laser Inspection Station. How stiff? A winning team would not be able to use the victory to advance to the next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.The same penalty could apply to a team that does not have enough secure lug nuts on a cars wheels at the end of a race.The new punishments, under guidelines applying to encumbered finishes, will go into effect if a team fails the post-race laser by a significant amount or if three or more of the 20 lug nuts arent secure after a race. A winning team will not be stripped of the victory, but the benefits that come with a win could be docked.We wanted to make sure that the door wasnt open for a team to really take advantage of the rules, said Scott Miller, senior vice president of competition. The level of infraction that it takes to end up with an encumbered finish, we havent seen that. It would certainly be egregious from everything weve seen before. We want to get these things in place to ensure we have a level playing field and nobody tries to take advantage of the current rules.The guidelines came the same day NASCAR docked Martin Truex Jr. 35 points and fined crew chief Cole Pearn $15,000 because Truexs car failed the laser inspection Saturday night at Richmond. The points deduction does not apply to Truex for the Chase, which begins Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, because the points have been reset to seed the 16-driver field. Truex begins the Chase seeded sixth.Among the significant changes announced Wednesday was one addressing missing lug nuts. A crew chief will no longer be suspended for one missing lug nut because NASCAR found it did not give teams a significant advantage. Monetary fines will be administered for one or two missing lug nuts, with a suspension warranted for anything else. There has been discussion all season about lug nuts, with the idea that the less time spent securing them leads to a quicker pit stop.The penalty escalates for severity under an encumbered finish in this fashion:- A team that wins the race would not be able to use the victory to determine Chase eligibility, eligibility for advancement in the Chase or eligibility for non-points races.- Regardless of the finishing position, that finish does not count when determining the champion and three runners-up in the final race of the Chase.- A P4 level lug nut violation would amount to a three-race suspension for the crew chief, a $20,000 fine and the loss of 35 championship driver and owner points.Five crew chiefs have been suspended this year after their car was found to be missing a lug nut after a race.That was kind of a one-tier approach to assure that the garage area complied with a pretty serious penalty for a crew chief suspension, Miller said of the previous penalty. As we looked at a more global approach and deeper, what we proposed here and what we enacted here is a lot more the penalty fitting the crime.---MORE RPM CHANGESRichard Petty Racing continued to make changes after it was shut out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field.The team this week gave Aric Almirola a new crew chief for the final 10 races of the season.Drew Blickensderfer replaced Trent Owens for the No. 42 Ford. Owens, in his third season as Almirolas crew chief, will be reassigned to another position at RPM.We are continuing to analyze every part of our organizations and make adjustments where needed, said RPM CEO Brian Moffitt. Weve made significant investments in both teams, and the results for the No. 43 team have not been what we expected.Blickensderfer had been RPMs director of research and development. He won three Sprint Cup races as a crew chief, including the 2009 Daytona 500 with Matt Kenseth. He most recently was the crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr. in 10 races last year.Blickensderfer has 15 wins with 13 different drivers in the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series.---NEMECHEK-SPONSORJohn Hunter Nemechek has a spot in the Truck Series first Chase for the championship, and a new sponsor to help fund his effort.NEMCO Motorsports has signed Fire Alarm Services, Inc. for five of the seven Chase races.Nemechek has two wins this season, including a controversial victory over Cole Custer at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park two weeks ago. He bumped Custer out of his way in the final turn and the two drag-raced through the grass to the finish line.Custer needed the win to make the Chase, which begins Sept. 24 at New Hampshire. The final Chase field will be set after this weekends race at ChicagolandFAS will be on Nemecheks No. 8 Chevrolet at New Hampshire, Las Vegas, Talladega, Phoenix and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.---INDYCAR CHANGESIndyCar has placed a freeze on aero kit development for manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda ahead of the 2017 season. Current kits will be run next season but the series plans to to introduce a universal aero kit for the 2018 season.Todays announcement follows an extended dialogue with Chevrolet, Honda, our teams and stakeholders -- this decision focused on what is best for the future of the Verizon IndyCar Series, said Jay Frye, the series president of competition and operations. This is an integral component to INDYCARs long-term plan to continue to produce the highest quality of on-track competition while also positioning ourselves to add additional engine manufacturers.Aero kit regulations were initially announced in 2013 and added to competition last year.Dale Murphy Jersey . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Josh Tomlin Braves Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.baseballbravesproshop.com/adam-duvall-braves-jersey/ .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. Dansby Swanson Braves Jersey . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. David Justice Braves Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca.MADRID -- A meaningless goal is still a goal, especially for someone who really needs a boost.Neymar had been enduring his worst scoring drought since arriving in Barcelona, but he got one in his teams 5-3 friendly win over Al Ahli in Qatar on Tuesday.That could be just the spur he needs.In Sundays Spanish league game against Espanyol, Neymar will be trying to score his first goal in an official match since he signed a three-year contract extension with Barcelona almost two months ago.Neymars last goal for the Catalan club came in the 4-0 win over Manchester City in the group stage of the Champions League on Oct. 19, two days before the new contract was signed to keep the Brazil striker in Barcelona until June 2021.Neymar failed to find the net in the eight matches since then, the longest scoreless streak in his four seasons in Spain.He also hasnt scored since finding out about a month ago that he and his father are each facing a two-year prison sentence and a fine of more than $10 million on corruption charges related to alleged irregularities during his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona. They deny wrongdoing.In his debut season in 2013-14, Neymar went six consecutive games without scoring a goal two separate occasions. He never went more than four games without a goal the following season, and in 2015-16 he didnt score in five games in a row late in the season.Although Neymar hasnt been playing poorly, his missed chances have attracted attention. None more than the one in the 68th minute of the clasico against Real Madrid at Camp Nou a few weeks ago, when he had an open shot from close range to give Barcelona a 2-0 lead but sent his strike over the crossbar. Madrid scored an equalizer in the 90th.Neymars missed opportunity might have cost Barcelona the game, but it also kept him from showing his suupport for Brazilian club Chapecoense, whose players and delegation members died in a plane crash in Colombia.ddddddddddddIf I had scored I would have shown a Chapecoense jersey, Neymar said. Its what I could have done at that moment to show my support to the relative of those who died.Its been a sub-par season for Neymar compared to a year ago, when he scored 14 goals in his first 17 games. He ended with 31 goals and made the short list for the best player of the year award, finishing behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the voting.The 24-year-old Neymar has only six goals after 17 official games this season. He did not make FIFAs shortlist this time, and finished fifth in the Ballon dOr award announced Monday.Neymar started the season with Barcelona later than usual because he played for Brazil at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, leading the hosts to their first soccer gold medal.He didnt play the last two games for Barcelona because of suspensions -- against Osasuna in the Spanish league and Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League. The coinciding yellow-card suspensions led to some criticism in Spanish media as they gave Neymar extended time off, although he had to spend time undergoing physiotherapy for a minor muscle ailment.Another Barcelona striker who could benefit from the friendly in Qatar is Paco Alcacer, who finally scored his first goal since being signed by the Catalan club this season. He hadnt scored in 10 games with Barcelona and many fans had already been criticizing him.Barcelona is six points behind Spanish league leader Madrid, which is off this weekend because its in Japan for the Club World Cup.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni ' ' '