Weekly NASCAR cheaters report

Rick Ren, the crew chief for NASCAR Camping World Series points leader Ron Hornaday, has been fined and placed on probation for an illegal part found on Hornaday's truck last weekend.

Hornaday was not assessed a points penalty after presenting a truck for initial inspection with an illegal rear-end housing last weekend at Kentucky Speedway.

Ren was fined $5,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, according to a NASCAR news release. The Kevin Harvick Inc. driver remained the series leader by 96 points over ThorSport Racing’s Matt Crafton.

The violations were discovered during opening-day inspection July 17. The truck was found in violation of the rule that requires mounting points on the axle housing must be evenly spaced and welded to prevent movement. The mounting points were not evenly spaced.

The rear-end housing was confiscated, and a new one was installed prior to practice and the race, which was won by Hornaday.

This was the second time Hornaday’s team had been penalized this season. He lost 25 points and Ren was fined $5,000 and put on probation until June 30 for an illegal shock absorber found during postrace inspection of the season-opening event Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway.