Nascar Suspends Crew Chiefs, Docks Points and Delivers Fines

The Daytona 500 is the first major race in Nascar each year. Thousands of spectators pour into Daytona Beach, Florida to fill the stands at the Daytona 500 race. This year will mark a drastic change for the Nextel Cup Racing at the Daytona 500 race because four Nascar crew chiefs were suspended from the Daytona 500 race and required to pay huge fines. A strong message is going out to crews and fans that Nascar will not tolerate cheating. Drivers will lose championship points as their owner face ownership points loss for the Nascar races. A new precedent has been set in Nextel Cup racing history.

To uphold the integrity of the sport, Nascar inspects race cars on a regular basis. Drivers and owners are aware of this policy but some still seem to push the limits on the regulations set forth by Nextel Cup Racing. Crew chiefs for Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne were suspended for a total of four races, including the Daytona 500 race. In addition, both Nextel Cup drivers were fined $50,000 each. Nextel Cup racing involves collecting points for the final race. Kenseth and Kahne were both docked 50 racing points. Owners for these cars were docked 50 owner's points. The crew chiefs for Scott Riggs and Elliot Sadler were suspended for two races. Riggs and Sadler were given $25,000 in penalties and docked 25 points from the Nextel Cup races. The owners for Riggs's and Sadler's cars were docked 25 owner's points.