What to do about 24 & 48?

Question

I would like to get opinions about what NASCAR should do to the 24 & 48 teams for their car violations. Docking them 100 points and giving them a $100k fine seems pretty light to me and apparently hasn't kept them from cheating. I say a 300 point deduction, both drivers suspended 2 races, and the crew chiefs be supended for 10 races. What are your thoughts?

We will all know on Tuesday when NASCAR makes the ruling.

Answer 1

I don't think the driver should be penalized in these kinds of situations. It is not his fault that his car failed inspection. Now if NASCAR decides to dock 100 pts from Jeff and Jimmie, Jeff will be fine, but Jimmie will drop all the way down to 5th in the points. They should dock 100 owner points and fine them as well. NASCAR really needs to take a look at this and turn those gray areas to black or white . . .

Answer 2

I am a bit torn on this situation. Yeah, what Chad and Steve did was intentional; however the Cars did fit the template; and it was a call NASCAR never wrote down in the rule book. They made the rule right on the spot; and then penalized the Team for a violation of a rule not even on the books.

However, Chad has a history of twisting and bending the rules and he knows that the COT leaves little room for playing around. He tried to gain an edge within the confines of the rules; however he knew there was a risk that NASCAR would not allow it.

As for Steve LeTart; he was just following Chad like a lost puppy. He placed his faith in Chad and now he is paying the price.

As for penalties. The 24 Team hasn't had a rules violation levied against it in a very very long time; so maybe a fine or $50,000 and 50 points. Maybe even a two race suspension.

As for the 48 Team. Even though this was an unwritten rule that NASCAR made up on the spot; Chad has a history. Minimum $100,000 penalty, 100 points, and 5 race suspension. At max $200,000, 200 points, and 20 races. Chad knows better.

Also I think there should be an Overseer to keep NASCAR honest. It is outrageous that they can make up a rule in the garage and enforce it without any accountability.

Answer 3

Knowing Nascar they'll probably do the usual 100 pt deduction , 100 owner pts, $100,000 fine, and the suspension of the crew chiefs for "x" amount of races.

Each time you get caught, they should lose a higher amount of points, a higher fine, and longer suspension for the crew chief, maybe even suspension for the driver for that race.

Jimmy's crew chief, Chad, is say "known" to cheat. He has been caught 4 times in the past 3 years..2 times in this year. If he gets caught again, I would suspend him for the rest of the season or even band him from nascar. He's been caught before and will be caught again.

Perhaps if the penalty was worse or becomes worse each time it happens, you wouldn't have people trying it. If you keep these crew chiefs around that keep trying to cheat, nascar will become a big joke in the sports world. Some people already think that.

Answer 4

Come on, they don't suspend Kurt or Mikey earlier in the year and you think THEY should sit for 2 races. Don't let your hate of them cloud your judgement on this issue. They SHOULD only get about a 50 point deduction and smaller fine than what Jr got but they will probably get the same penalties the 8 team got earlier. They were working in a gray area and it got caught BEFORE inspection. Normally they would have lost some practice time while they got in compliance and been allowed to fix it and qualify. They have already had some severe penalties with missing valuable practice time AND by not being allowed to qualify. This was not the most flagrant violation of the rules this year and therefore should not draw the biggest penalties. Neither of them or their crew chiefs are presently on probation and just because Chad has been an "innovator" in the past does not mean they should treat this infraction more severely than the others.

Answer 5

I can tell you are biased toward Hendricks. If that had been lets say, DEI or Childress, would you feel the same way??? Didn't think so. I'm guessing there will be a 100 point detuction, 150.000 fine and 6 weeks no show for both crew chiefs. Thats God a plenty for a first offense for Gordon. Johnson may get more because this his teams second offense. Won't make much diff because Gordon will still be leading the points. If they put the drivers out for any races, it's unfair. PERIOD. AND, this COT is a joke to start with. It's not even a Stock CAR as we know it. Also, the temps fit both cars. Nascar makes up the rules as they go. Can you see what would happen if baseball, football, hockey or any other major sports changed rules every week.???

Answer 6

Thus far, a couple of different points come to light:

1. The punishment taken thus far at the track (no first practice and going to the back of the pack) was pretty much completely useless when both Gordon and Johnson ended up with respectable finishes.

2. I would also venture to guess that the now-standard 100 point/$100,000/6 week crew chief suspension penalty will also be pretty much worthless - it wouldn't make it difficult for either team to contend for the chase, since they are both positioned comfortably in the top of the standings.

3. Jimmie Johnson won the Daytona 500 without his crew chief and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seems to be running better without Tony Eury Jr. at the track, so it doesn't seem that a crew chief suspension is effective, either.

4. Chad Knaus could probably be considered a repeat offender, so perhaps his punishment could be more harsh.

5. In the Dale Earnhardt Jr. situation, it could be argued that the use of the wrong bolts was not intentional, but that this action was intentional.

So, I guess my thought would be to do the 100 point/$100,000/6 race crew chief suspension, but make it effective at the start of the chase. That's the only way that level of punishment would create enough of a hardship to be effective.

Answer 7

Considering the fact that the "DRIVER" does not fabricate his own car it's a little unfair to penalize them, no matter who they are. Secondly, the cars fit the template and this happened at inspection right off the truck. The "grey" area on the car was modified although the rest of the car fit the template. What you have to realize is that Jr.'s penalty came after first inspection when parts were removed and then placed on the car. They can't be the same penalty because they aren't even similiar offenses. Illegal parts and illegal modifications are seperate issues and should be dealt with seperately. Knaus put an illegal part on JJ's car at Daytona, different scenario once again! I think owner points and a supspension should happen, but it's hard to justify an extremely harsh penalty when "THE CAR FIT THE TEMPLATE" and there were "NO ILLEGAL PARTS ON THE CAR" just my opinion, but you have to look at Jr.'s penalty a little differently than these two. Either way they were all intentional, but you can't suspend a driver for something he has no control over. The fab shop and the crew chief are responsible here. I don't think the penalty should be more severe than the one Jr. got and I don't think you should see it as favoratism, you need to take into account what the real issue is.

Answer 8

They screwed with the COT, therefore they should get the penalty that NASCAR defined and communicated to the teams for it.

100 Driver points
100 Owner points
$100,000 Crew Chief fine
6 race Crew Chief suspension

That's what Junior got, that's what these guys should get. NASCAR really needs to be consistent with this and not get arbitrary like they have with other penalties and infractions.

Answer 9

I think they should definitely face stiffer penalties than the 100 point and $100,000 fine that's kinda become the norm. I mean, come on! HOW many times has Johnson's crew chief been suspended for violations? The penalty should increase for repeat offenders. So for the #48 crew, I agree with you: driver suspended entirely for one or two races, crew chief for 10 and a much larger fine. And maybe lighter, but only a little, for the #24, since his violations were the same but he's not as much of a repeat offender.

But will it happen? My fiance and I both think they'll give both crews the $100K and 100 point deduction, and justify it by saying that they weren't allowed to qualify or practice, so their penalty was more harsh than those levied on Junior and others. Which is crap. But we'll see.

Answer 10

Remember this is what Nascar called a Grey area. All the teams try to gain as many advantages as possible they just were caught at it.Starting at the back most likely cost the 24 a win. What ever the fine and penalty is it will not satisfy everyone and people saying they should start the penalty in the chase that is just stupid if that were the case jr should start in the same hole with them they were caught to. Remember the cars fit the templates.