NASCAR has issued penalties and fines to the No. 99 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The No. 99 car driven by Carl Edwards was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-2.1J (any device or duct work that permits air to pass from one area of the interior of the car to another, or to the outside of the car, will not be permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, the inside of the car to the trunk area, or the floors, firewalls, crush panels and wheel wells passing air into or out of the car) of the 2008 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during post-race inspection at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 2.
As a result, Edwards and car owner Jack Roush have been penalized 100 championship driver and 100 championship owner points, respectively. In the event the 99 team qualifies for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the team will not receive the 10 bonus points for the UAW-Dodge 400 victory used for determining the Chase seeding order. Crew chief Bob Osborne has been fined $100,000, suspended from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, suspended from NASCAR until April 30 and placed on probation until Dec. 31.
On March 4, 2008, the National Stock Car Racing Commission heard and considered the appeal of Richardson-Haas Motorsports regarding the #14 car. The appeal concerned three penalties issued by NASCAR following post-qualifying inspection on February 15, 2008 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Daytona International Speedway.
The infractions concerned Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rule Book “Actions detrimental to stock car racing”; Section 12-4-Q “Any determination by NASCAR Officials that the car, car parts, components, and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform to NASCAR rules” and Section 20A-8.4C: “The oil reservoir tank cover was not fastened securely.”
The penalties assessed were:
Loss of 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Car Owner Points for car owner Carl Haas.
Loss of 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Driver Points for driver David Gilliland.
$15,000.00 fine; suspension from NASCAR for the next six (6) NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Events; suspension from NASCAR until April 9, 2008 (not including testing), and probation until December 31, 2008 for crew chief Robert Edwards.
The Appellants argued that the infractions were inadvertent and due to inadequate preparation time.
In deliberating, the Commission considered several factors including Section 20A-2.1L concerning the passage of air into or out of the car. The installation of the cover appeared to readily allow air from the underside of the reserve oil tank encasement to pass into the cockpit, as evidenced by the significant bowing of the cover following qualifying.
By a majority vote, the National Stock Car Racing Commission decided to amend two of the three original penalties assessed by NASCAR as follows:
Loss of 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Car Owner Points and a $15,000.00 fine for car owner Carl Haas, with the fine payable by the current majority owner of Richardson-Haas Motorsports, Donnie Richardson.
Loss of 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Driver Points for driver David Gilliland.
Suspension from NASCAR for the next six (6) NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship Events; suspension from NASCAR until April 9, 2008 (not including testing), and probation until December 31, 2008 for crew chief Robert Edwards.
The Appellants have the right under Section 15 of the Rule Book to appeal this decision to the National Stock Car Racing Commissioner.
Buddy Baker
Lyn St. James
George Silbermann, Chairman
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