But when he hits the track Friday for the start of theDuck Commander 500 weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Newman will be 26th.That's what a 75-point penalty will do to a race team. NASCAR determined his Richard Childress Racing crew illegally manipulated the tires for the No. 31 Chevrolet at the March 22 race at Auto Club Speedway. It is not known if the infraction was taking place longer than that event.Did Newman's performance, which included him making the four-driver championship race in 2014 and nearly winning it, have anything to do with the tires? Was his consistent effort this season -- four top-10 finishes in the first five races -- a result of tire manipulation?Newman's speed at Texas and beyond should give some indication. If the team was manipulating tires before, it most likely is not now.

RCR is appealing the decision and a hearing will be held April 16. The team hopes the points penalty, fine ($125,000 for crew chief Luke Lambert) and suspensions (six-week bans for Lambert, the team's engineer and a tire technician) are overturned.The team members will be allowed to participate this weekend while the appeal is pending."We feel confident we have a very compelling case to present to the appeals panel," team owner Richard Childress said Thursday in a statement. "We strongly believe in the intent of the rules and the integrity of our own teams while following those same rules." Three other drivers to watch this weekend:

Larson returns

Kyle Larson missed the Martinsville race after fainting at the track following an autograph session, which required hospitalization for extensive tests. The diagnosis was dehydration, and Larson was cleared to return last week.The second-year Cup driver returned to the car Wednesday at Richmond International Raceway for a scheduled test, which allowed him to get some seat time before coming to Texas."It was nice to get a day in (the car) before I got out here," he said Thursday. "They ran all those (medical) tests, but just to make sure everything is good in the race car. It went fine. It was smooth. No problems at all."

Gordon in the TV booth

Jeff Gordon will make his debut as a guest analyst for Fox Sports 1's Xfinity Seriescoverage, which has featured a series of drivers this season including Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer.But Gordon's appearance might be more meaningful. Gordon will no longer be racing full-time after 2015 and hasn't announced what he'll do next.Is a TV career in the works? That's unclear, but Gordon's upcoming analyst gigs (he'll also be in the booth next week at Bristol Motor Speedway and for the May 2 race at Talladega Superspeedway) might be viewed as an extended tryout.

Star of Texas: JohnsonIt's easy to say Jimmie Johnson is the favorite for Saturday night's race. He's won four Texas races – more than anyone – including three of the last five. But all of those wins have come in the fall.The spring race has never seen a back-to-back winner (sorry, Joey Logano) and has been won by 14 different drivers in 18 races.So will Johnson, who has led the most laps in Texas history, be the one who ends up shooting the traditional guns in victory lane again? Or will a driver like Harvick, Keselowski or Martin Truex Jr. pick up their first career Texas win?