TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

NASCAR Suspends 7 Crew Chiefs

ADVERTISEMENT

By TONY FABRIZIO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 21, 2008

Updated: 02/20/2008 11:56 pm

NASCAR suspended seven crew chiefs in its top three national series Wednesday for violations at Daytona, though the Nationwide Series team of Zephyrhills' David Reutimann escaped serious penalty for having an illegal carburetor.

Ten teams, including one in the Sprint Cup Series and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team in the Nationwide Series, were issued penalties that also included points deductions, fines and probations.

In Cup, Robby Gordon was docked 100 driver and owner points, and crew chief Frank Kerr - Reutimann's Cup crew chief last year - was fined $100,000, suspended six races and placed on probation through Dec. 31. Gordon's No. 7 Dodge, which finished eighth in the Daytona 500, had an illegal front bumper cover.

Earnhardt's No. 5 Nationwide team was penalized 50 driver and owner points and crew chief Chad Walters was fined $25,000, suspended for six races and placed on probation for the year for altering the rear spoiler after the template inspection.

Reutimann's carburetor was confiscated early in the inspection process for Saturday's Camping World 300, but NASCAR didn't consider the violation as serious as most of the others. Crew chief Jerry Baxter was fined $5,000 and placed on probation until July 9.

Also in the Nationwide Series, crew chiefs Gene Allnutt (Johnny Davis), Newt Moore (Johnny Sauter), Bob Edwards (David Gilliland), Steve Darne (David Stremme) and Charlie Wilson (Cale Gale) were fined $15,000, suspended for six races and placed on year-long probation.

In the Craftsman Truck Series, Daytona winner Todd Bodine was penalized 25 points for having a device on his truck to reduce the bed panel height during qualifying. His crew chief, Mike Hillman Jr., was fined $10,000, suspended for four races and placed on year-long probation. Ron Hornaday's crew chief, Rick Ren, was fined $5,000 for having illegal spoiler braces.

OPEN-WHEEL DEAL IN HANDS OF LAWYERS: The possible unification of America's two open-wheel racing series was in the hands of the lawyers Wednesday, working out the final details of a deal that could re-energize the struggling sport.

Rather than a merger, the proposed deal, which could be announced as soon as Friday, would see teams from the Champ Car World Series blended into the Indy Racing League's IndyCar Series, with immediate gains in cars and races.

"It is still not done, but still moving," IRL spokesman Fred Nation said Wednesday.

Since the IRL began competing with what was then the established CART series in 1996, the two have competed for drivers, teams, fans, sponsors and TV ratings, generally losing on all counts.

Before the proposed agreement, Champ Car was set to begin its season April 20 at Long Beach, Calif., with no more than 17 cars, while the IndyCar Series was in danger of starting its season March 29 at Homestead with as few as 16.

Information from Tribune wires was used in this report.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT