LONG POND — The NASCAR policy of issuing secret fines is taking another public turn.

For the third time within less than a year, NASCAR has issued a non-public monetary penalty to a Sprint Cup Series driver.

Multiple sources confirmed to the Charlotte Observer that Ryan Newman received a $50,000 fine for striking fellow driver Juan Pablo Montoya during a meeting with NASCAR officials May 6 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

The secret penalty is the second for Newman, who also received an unpublished fine for criticizing the racing at Talladega, Ala., last season. Historically, NASCAR has issued public statements of all its penalties.

Newman would neither confirm nor deny the new penalty when asked about it Friday at Pocono Raceway.

“I’ve always said that private things happen privately and what happens in the trailer stays in the trailer and there is a reason that we have private meetings and there is a reason that NASCAR does things the way they do,” he said.

NASCAR officials would neither confirm nor deny Newman’s newest penalty.

In an email, NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp referred to a statement he issued this week:

“Anything relevant to discussions NASCAR has with the competitors in the hauler stays between NASCAR and the competitors. And, NASCAR will always work to protect that bridge of confidence.”

NASCAR did offer some insight into what transpired in the hauler at Darlington. NASCAR issued a statement then that said, in part, that the meeting between the drivers “did not go as well as we had hoped it would and we are not completely through with this issue.”

In the week after that race, NASCAR issued penalties to drivers Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch for a separate incident on pit road during the event.

Tharp told the Observer and other media at that time that neither Newman nor Montoya would receive any additional penalties for their incident.

Montoya did not comment on the day of the incident in Darlington and declined again Friday. Reached by phone for comment Friday, Montoya’s attorney, Albert Naon, said, “It’s a private matter between NASCAR, Juan and Ryan.”

When the issue of secret fines first came up last July — both Denny Hamlin and Newman admitted receiving non publicized fines for making negative comments about NASCAR — the sanctioning body left a lot of wiggle room as to what such penalties could cover or entail.

“It’s the sanctioning body’s obligation on behalf of the industry and our fans to protect the sport’s brand,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said.