CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were docked 100 points each Tuesday, and their crew chiefs were both fined $100,000 and suspended for six races for violations at Infineon Raceway.
The two Hendrick Motorsports cars failed inspection Friday in Sonoma, Calif., and NASCAR refused to let either driver on the track the rest of the day. The cars were altered, passed inspection Saturday and allowed to race Sunday. Gordon, the four-time series champion, finished seventh while defending Nextel Cup champion Johnson was 17th.
Gordon remains the Nextel Cup points leader after the deduction, but his margin was cut to 171 points over Denny Hamlin. Johnson dropped from third to fifth.
But both will have to race through the summer without their crew chiefs. Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte are not eligible to return to the track until Aug. 15.
The crew chiefs also were placed on probation through the end of the year.
2007-06-26 09:08:23 · 14 answers · asked by marci4tony 2 in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ NASCAR
It's really not that big of a deal. Do you remember what happened the last time Johnson raced without his crew chief. he won the Daytona 500. Teams always do better when surrounded by controversey. In fact it may be a good thing because the crew chiefs can get better prepared for the chase. And the punishment was a good punishment. People are always complaining about consistency and this is right along the lines of previous punishments. Nascar did a good job, and I'm stilll expecting good results from those teams.
2007-06-26 09:15:22 · answer #1 · answered by Austin B 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First, to clarify my position, I don't necessarily agree that they should have been in trouble - I personally think teams should be able to work the gray areas. Nonetheless, NASCAR determined that what they did was illegal, so my opinion doesn't matter.
While this penalty is probably appropriate because it is consistent with past rulings, it will very likely end up being ineffective for 2 reasons:
1. The teams will still have full access to their crew chiefs. Chad Knaus has been through this before. He did very well at it, with a Daytona 500 win and subsequent very good finishes during his last suspension. Another example is Dale Jr - he's been running very well without his crew chief at the track, maybe even better than before. They will get the communications in place and do just fine with remote crew chiefs.
2. With both teams near the top of the standings, the 100 point deduction will not necessarily jeopardize their chance at making the chase. With their number of wins, they'll both be right back at the top anyway when the points are reset.
The only thing effective about this penalty is the probation. That will probably deter Steve LeTarte and Chad Knaus from trying anything else this year, but it won't stop any other teams from playing in the gray areas at least once.
2007-06-26 09:28:57 · answer #2 · answered by Duck of Death 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
consider that jr and eury suffered the exact same penalty when they were caught. no it's not fair;those teams should have been fined for EACH infraction! the monetary penalties really don't mean much but the points and the suspensions (sometimes) do. nascar says no grey area on the cot and if they really want to make their point, the penalties should be stiffer each time a team is caught cheating. the fines should continue to go up and in this case, i think that the crew chiefs should have been suspended indefinitely, maybe until the chase starts. they could suspend the driver as well (i.e harvick) but that hurts the fans and viewership. don't know if i would tune in every week if someone else were in my car.
2007-06-26 10:02:22 · answer #3 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel the penalties were fair. So far, Nascar is staying consistent with COT infractions. Dale Jr was the first to mess with the COT and now the #24 and #48 teams being the next ones. So with both drivers being unable to practice or qualify, it shows that Nascar is not going to mess around with those that choose to mess with the COT. Next time, the team to "cheat' will probably be penalized even more severely.
2007-06-26 09:36:27 · answer #4 · answered by jan 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well they did it to dale jr so why not to gordon and johnson , what penalties work for one should work for all
yes gordon and johnson had another penality they didnt get to qualify and had to start in the back but everyone knows if u have a lead like johnson and gordon , and there able to complete laps and finish the race there not gonna loose to many points as long as they finish the race which they did there fore htey got points for passing cars , gordon even lead a lap therfore 5 bonus points ontop of it so he may of been docked 100 points but he made up atleast 15 of those points if not more
2007-06-26 09:27:11 · answer #5 · answered by dale621 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Little harsh because they had to sit out for qualifying and practice, but NASCAR is all about consistency with COT violators, so in all fairness, it was fair and appropriate. They violated the least and recieved the harshest penalty. It will probably wake a few other teams up also.
2007-06-26 09:19:22 · answer #6 · answered by Sir Bobber 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes, all is fair in love & NASCAR as long as you play by the rules!
2007-06-26 10:46:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not know if they are appropriate, but they are consistent. And to say that about NASCAR is an amazing thing.
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2007-06-26 09:50:20 · answer #8 · answered by McClintock 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well at least nascar played it fair!
2007-06-26 09:15:14 · answer #9 · answered by shortnstoudt 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like an impartial and fair penalty to me.
2007-06-26 09:13:25 · answer #10 · answered by shirley e 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋