NASCAR suspends cheaters
02/13/07 Also on Tuesday, Rodney Childers, crew chief for the No. 10 Dodge driven by Scott Riggs; and Josh Browne, crew chief for the No. 19 Dodge driven by Elliott Sadler – have been suspended for two races and fined $25,000. In addition, Riggs and Sadler were penalized 25 driver championship points while their car owners, James Rocco and Evernham, were penalized 25 car owner championship points.
02/13/07 Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth will begin the Nextel Cup season with negative points and without their crew chiefs as a result of violations discovered Sunday during post-qualifying inspection for the Daytona 500. Kenny Francis, the team director for Kahne, and Kenseth's crew chief Robbie Reiser both were told on Tuesday that they had been ejected from the 500 and will be suspended for multiple races. Sources said the teams also were informed there would be a deduction in points as well as fines. NASCAR scheduled a press conference for 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday to announce the details. No announcement is expected on the infraction involving Michael Waltrip, whose Toyota was impounded and intake manifold confiscated after an unspecified substance was discovered in the manifold before qualifying. More at ESPN.com
02/13/07 "I'm not too proud to say we used to coat our air cleaners with propylene oxide," said Fox TV's Larry McReynolds, another example of NASCAR's blatant cheaters. "When the engine is running it would suck it in and make the car run faster. If Michael and them were doing something wrong, I tend to believe it was not an honest mistake."
ESPN's Andy Petree went as far to suggest Waltrip could be hardest hit, saying, "It was a blatant infraction. The entire team will probably be suspended, including the driver and owner. This kind of stuff is frowned upon." This should help Toyota avoid NASCAR fan backlash if they were too competitive too soon. Rest assured by year three in Cup they will be a dominant force, the same game plan we saw in the Truck series. Hence you won't see Toyota complain at all when one of their teams is fined.
02/13/07 Kenny Francis, the team director for Nextel Cup driver Kasey Kahne, took a mini-vacation with his family in his nearby hometown of Jacksonville on Monday.
Francis and Robby Reiser, the crew chief for 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth, are expected to be given an extended vacation by NASCAR beginning on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sunday's qualifying times for Kahne and Kenseth were disallowed because of unapproved aerodynamic enhancements discovered during post-qualifying inspection.
NASCAR officials said the infractions were as blatant as the one that resulted in Chad Knaus, the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, being ejected from last year's Daytona 500, suspended for an additional three races and fined $25,000.
Sources close to the situation said the punishment for Francis and Reiser would be similar if not the exact same.
Asked Monday on a Sirius Satellite radio show if Knaus' ejection established a precedent, NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said, "It is in the close family." More at ESPN.com
[Editor's Note: Suspend the crew chief, big deal. Jimmie Johnson still won the Daytona 500 and series title last year even though his crew chief was suspended. He can still guide the team via the phone, so this penalty amounts to nothing more than another slap on the wrist by NASCAR. As we suggested, slap a $1 million minimum fine on NASCAR rats (cheaters) and see how fast cheating stops. We still maintain that NASCAR wants the cheating to continue for the free PR it provides.]