nascarlover07
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NASCAR's serious, DEI better be too - 2007/05/16 22:13
NASCAR's serious, DEI better be too
NASCAR forewarned its Nextel Cup teams about the stringency with which it would enforce the Car of Tomorrow.
When the season kicked off in Daytona, a precedent was established when Michael Waltrip racing was fined $100,000 and docked 100 championship owner and driver points and crew chief David Hyder and team manager Bobby Kennedy were suspended indefinitely.
NASCAR followed up at Bristol with a bulletin detailing precisely what the penalties would be for compromising the integrity of the COT:
"Any team making adjustments to the car after certification could face penalties that could include $100,000 fine and/or the loss of up to 100 Championship Driver and Car Owner points, and/or loss of the opportunity to qualify, and/or the loss of a pre-determined starting position in the Event, and/or loss of a provisional starting position in the Event, and/or probation, and/or suspension of any NASCAR Member(s) may be assessed."
On Tuesday, NASCAR proved it was serious when it nailed Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 8 car with those exact fines plus a seven-week suspension for crew chief Tony Eury Jr., for failure to pass pre-race inspection.
According to NASCAR: The No. 8 team was found to have violated Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules), and 20-3.1.3B (the NASCAR-approved upper and lower rear wing mounting brackets must not be modified to obtain a rear-wing angle of less than zero degrees or more than 16 degrees) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book.
The garage was abuzz on Saturday with how hard the hammer would fall. After all, as one crew chief put it, "this is NASCAR'S money car". While the sanctioning body allowed the team to race this time, the punishment showed NASCAR wasn't playing favorites.
So what's the forecast for the No. 8 car? With the loss of 100 points, Dale Earnhardt Jr., automatically falls out of the top 12 to 14th in the standings. His car owner Teresa Earnhardt was 13th in points, 621 behind the No. 24. She now drops to 15th.
With Eury Jr.'s suspension taking effect immediately, even though DEI will appeal on Monday, Tony Gibson will fill the interim crew chief position. Gibson, 40, worked under Paul Andrews when Alan Kulwicki won the title in 1992 and then became the car chief for the No. 24 in 1999 before taking over the crew chief's role on the No. 1 at DEI near the end of the 2002 season. Gibson is more than familiar with DEI's systems.
Earnhardt's spotter, Steve Hmiel, was one of the Cup series top crew chiefs before he became technical director at DEI. He provides a calming and confident voice to Earnhardt over the radio. Hmiel was interim crew chief for the No. 8 in the past and is more than capable of stepping up at the track in Eury's absence.
Eury has been in the "what else can happen" mode for so long that both he and his crew have become survivors. In 2004, Junior trailed Jimmie Johnson by just 109 points when his car was engulfed in flames at Sonoma. That following December, Teresa Earnhardt separated the cousins and much of the blame for Junior's lackluster moments was undeservedly placed on the team. But the team continues to rally back.
At the start of the season, when the Nos. 9 and 17 were penalized and the crew chiefs suspended, the results afterward were dramatically different. Kasey Kahne, who was with a relatively new team, tanked. Matt Kenseth, who has grown from Robbie Reiser's support over the years, is third in points and stayed competitive each week, even winning at California Speedway. Reiser stayed at home, worked to make his cars better and the team persevered.
Like Reiser, Eury has been with Junior since his earliest days in NASCAR. Despite the drama surrounding the No. 8 car with Earnhardt's pending decisions, Eury will be the bond that keeps this crew together whether he's at the track or not. Eury will continue to improve the racecars, enjoy some time with his wife and be rested when crunch time comes this summer during the toughest stretch of the schedule.
While the penalty will be painful to the pocketbook and the hit in points is nothing to take lightly, there's plenty of time before the Chase and this could be the catalyst that ignites the No. 8 to its first Nextel Cup title
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