Weekly NASCAR cheating report

Five qualifying times for today's NASCAR Nationwide Series season opener were disallowed Friday night, and as a result, one car that had made the field was sent packing.

Involved were the No. 0 of Kertus Davis, who was sent home because the team did not have owner points from 2007 to fall back on; the No. 1 of Johnny Sauter, the No. 14 of Sprint Cup regular David Gilliland, the No. 64 of David Stremme and the No. 77 of Cale Gale. That quartet moves to the rear for today's 1:15 p.m. Camping World 300 thanks to 2007 owner points.

"The lid on the oil tank behind the driver seat was loose, and with that you have both a safety consideration and a possible aero-enhancing advantage," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said of the violations. "The advantage would be around the venting of air."

Sprint Cup regular Tony Stewart (180.937 mph) starts first today in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, flanked by Cup regular Clint Bowyer (180.101) in his Richard Childress Racing Chevy.

"It was pretty uneventful," Stewart said of his qualifying lap. "The hardest part of our job is shifting three times." Nationwide regular Jason Leffler qualified third (180.047) in his Toyota. Sprint and Nationwide rookie and 2007 Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti qualified fourth (179.698) in his Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge. Kyle Busch was fifth (179.695) in his Gibbs Toyota.

"(Today) is about me going to school, and I'm hoping I can stay close to the front and learn from the guys that do it the best," Franchitti said. Leffler is expecting an exciting race.

"There's nothing better than sliding around at 190 mph, beating and banging on everybody," Leffler said.

Defending series champion and Cup regular Carl Edwards qualified 29th (178.292) in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Failing to make the field were Danny O'Quinn Jr., Morgan Shepherd, Larry Gunselman, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Lepage, Joe Nemechek, Donnie Neuenberger, Brett Rowe and Mike Harmon. Earnhardt, Reutimann busted. The rear deck lid and spoiler from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevy were confiscated after NASCAR found they had been manipulated in an attempt to gain an aerodynamic advantage. The violation, a modification to lower the spoiler, decrease drag and increase speed, was discovered following practice Thursday. The car was impounded Thursday, but returned Friday. A new deck lid and spoiler were installed, and Earnhardt drove the car in qualifying. NASCAR said an announcement on any possible penalties against JR Motorsports would come Monday or Tuesday. Officials also confiscated the carburetor from the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota driven by David Reutimann. The carburetor's venturis were too large, allowing more air to pass through and providing a potential horsepower advantage. The car was allowed to qualify. FloridaToday