NASCAR levies fines, suspends crew chiefs
NASCAR suddenly finds itself in need of slew of replacement crew chiefs.
Ten teams - one in the Sprint Cup Series, seven in Nationwide and two in the Craftsman Truck series - were issued penalties on Wednesday that included the suspension of seven different crew chiefs for infractions during Speedweeks at Daytona.
In Cup, owner and driver Robby Gordon was penalized 100 driver and owner points and his crew chief, Frank Kerr, was fined $100,000, suspended six races and placed on probation for having an unapproved front bumper cover on his No. 7 Dodge.
In the Nationwide Series, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 5 team was stripped of 50 driver points, 50 owner points and crew chief Chad Walters was fined $25,000, suspended six races and placed on probation for altering the rear spoiler after template inspection.
The No. 0 (Johnny Davis), No. 1 (Johnny Sauter), No. 14 (David Gilliland), No. 64 (David Stremme), and No. 77 Cale Gale) teams were all penalized for having their oil reserve tank covers not fastened securely during post-qualifying inspection. Each team was penalized 25 driver and 25 car owner points.
In addition, each of the crew chiefs - Gene Allnutt, Jon Wolfe, Bob Edwards, Steve Darne and Charlie Wilson - have been fined $15,000 each and suspended for six races and placed on probation.
Finally, Jerry Baxter, crew chief for the No. 99, was fined $5,000 placed on probation until July 9 for having carburetor venturis that exceeded the specified size.
In the Truck series, Todd Bodine may have won the season opener at Daytona, but he is no longer the points leader. His No. 30 Toyota team was penalized 25 driver and 25 owner points for having a device on his truck to reduce the bed panel height during pre-qualifying inspection.
His crew chief, Mike Hillman Jr., has been fined $10,000 and suspended four races and placed on probation.
Also, crew chief Rick Ren of the No. 33 Chevrolet driven by Ron Hornaday was fined $5,000 and for having spoiler braces which exceeded the maximum one-inch width.
This story was originally published February 20, 2008 at 1:44 PM with the headline "NASCAR levies fines, suspends crew chiefs."