Nascar handed out some fines and penalties

Yesterday race winner Carl Edwards was issued a fine and penalty. Here is what NASCAR had to say:

The No. 99 car driven by Carl Edwards was found to
be in violation of 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 20-2.1J (any device or duct work that permits air to pass
from one area of the interior of the car to another, or to the outside of the
car, will not be permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, the inside of
the car to the trunk area, or the floors, firewalls, crush panels and wheel
wells passing air into or out of the car) of the 2008 NASCAR rulebook. The
violations were found during post-race inspection at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on
March 2.

Inspectors found that the cover of the oil reservoir encasement mounted
behind the driver's seat was off, a circumstance that constitutes an
unauthorized aerodynamic modification. NASCAR rules require that the cover be
bolted securely to the encasement.
As a result, Edwards and car owner Jack
Roush have been penalized 100 championship driver and 100 championship owner
points, respectively. In the event the No. 99 team qualifies for the Chase, the
team will not receive the 10 bonus points for the UAW-Dodge 400 victory used for
determining the seeding order.
Also, crew chief Bob Osborne has been fined
$100,000, suspended from the next six Cup Series events, suspended from NASCAR
until April 30 and placed on probation until Dec. 31.
The 100-point penalty
drops Edwards from first to seventh in the Cup standings.

Here is what Roush-Fenway had to say about it.

Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith issued a statement Wednesdsay
evening addressing the penalty:
"The bolt holding the lid in place failed in
its purpose as a result of vibration harmonics generated by the car and the race
track during the race. The bolt was secure enough to survive 225 miles of
practice, perhaps up to 399 of 400 miles of the race and the scrutiny of
numerous inspections.
"It's a tough business for any race team to have to
pledge $100,000, 100 points and a six-race crew chief suspension as an indemnity
payment to NASCAR against a promise forced from us by NASCAR that no bolt will
ever fail its purpose under race conditions. We are currently evaluating whether
or not the circumstances justify submitting to the unpleasantness of the appeal
process, but from a competitive standpoint, we believe it is in our best
interest to have Bob Osborne begin serving the penalty now. Chris Andrews, our
chief engineer, will be at the track on Friday and Saturday to lead the No. 99
team and general manager Robbie Reiser will join Chris on the pit box Sunday
during the race.
"We are confident that we have the depth of talent in our
organization and the strength in Carl Edwards and the No. 99 team to overcome
this penalty, should that end up being the final outcome of this unhappy
episode."

Also yesterday NASCAR heard Robby Gordon's appeal to his fines and penalty from Daytona. Here is what his ruling was.

The infractions concerned Section 12-4-A of the NASCAR Rule Book "Actions
detrimental to stock car racing"; Section 12-4-Q "Any determination by NASCAR
Officials that the car, car parts, components, and/or equipment used in the
Event do not conform to NASCAR rules" and Section 20-3.1-A: "Unapproved front
bumper cover."
Gordon
The penalties assessed were:
• Loss of 100 NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series Championship Car Owner Points for car owner Robby Gordon.
•
Loss of 100 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Driver Points for driver Robby
Gordon.
• $100,000.00 fine; suspension from NASCAR for the next six (6)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Events; suspension from NASCAR until April
9, and probation until Dec. 31 for crew chief, Frank Kerr.
The Appellants
argued that the bumper cover was installed as delivered from the manufacturer,
that it did not provide a competition advantage since it was discovered prior to
being allowed on the racetrack, and that the bumper met the templates. The
Appellants also argued against the severity of the penalties.
In
deliberating, the Commission considered several factors. The bumper cover
constituted an obvious rules infraction and the Appellants did not contest the
legality of the part.
The Commission notes and reaffirms the following
fundamental principal which is vital to maintaining the integrity of the sport:
Regardless of the source of an unapproved part on a racecar, the race team that
officially enters the car in a NASCAR race is ultimately accountable for that
racecar's conformance, or non-conformance, to the rules.
NASCAR issued
penalties and fines to the No. 7 team as a result of rule infractions found
during Speedweeks at Daytona.

However, the Commission believes that the
facts presented during the hearing represented an extraordinary and unusual set
of circumstances. While this does not excuse the infraction, the National Stock
Car Racing Commission has decided to reinstate the car owner and driver
championship points, lift the suspension, and increase the fine.
The
restoration of the points moves Gordon to 21st from 37th in the standings,
lifting him well above the all-important top-35 mark needed to guarantee a spot
in the field each week.
For the crew chief, Frank Kerr, the penalty is
increased to $150,000 and he remains on probation through Dec. 31.

Here is what Robby Gordon Motorsports had to say regarding the ruling.

"We see this as good news," Gordon said in a statement Wednesday night. "We
are grateful the commissioners rescinded the points penalty and suspension but
disappointed by the fine. Still, we see this as a victory for Robby Gordon
Motorsports. We feel like justice was done and appreciate NASCAR creating a
system that allowed us to take our appeal to the National Stock Car Racing
Commission.
"Now we plan to put this issue behind us and concentrate on
making the Chase in 2008 as well as getting the Jim Beam Dodge into Victory
Lane. I want to thank the thousands of fans and our sponsors who have supported
us through this episode and want everyone of you to know how much we appreciate
all that you have done.
"Our goal is to be a model team in the future and
never go through something like this again," Gordon said.

This was all from NASCAR.com!