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And Justice for All?

by Tim Zaegel on March 5th, 2008

NASCAR made their ruling in the case of Carl Edwards and his no. 99 Office Depot team for an incident following the race in Vegas in which NASCAR inspectors discovered that the lid on his oil tank was completely removed. The decision made by NASCAR has resulted in the loss of 100 driver points and 10 Chase bonus points for Edwards, 100 owner points for Jack Roush, crew chief Bob Osborne has been suspended for the course of six races, and the team was also fined $100,000 on top of it all. It’s the largest overall penalty that NASCAR has issued thus far for infractions concerning the Car of Tomorrow, and Roush-Fenway Racing has not yet decided whether or not they will appeal the decision.

The ruling has many fans on both sides of the fence, some exalting NASCAR for their consistency and the others cursing them for their inconsistency. Here’s a few interesting key points to consider, though:

Fact:  Five Nationwide teams were penalized by NASCAR at Daytona when inspectors found their oil tank lids to be loose. All five teams were penalized 25 points, the crew chiefs suspended for six races, and the teams fined between $15-25k. Since then, the Racing Commission has reduced two of those penalties and rescinded the other one altogether.

Fact:  Carl Edwards did not actually fail post-race inspection. The NASCAR inspectors simply claimed they had found an issue with the car after the race, and all early indications were that having the lid missing would only give the car a slight advantage – if any – but, it wouldn’t be anything significant. There has yet to be anything in the form of solid proof that the incident actually enhanced the performance of the car.

Fact:  Michael Waltrip was penalized in 2007 for placing a fuel additive in his engine for the Daytona 500. The penalty NASCAR gave to Waltrip was identical to that of Carl Edwards, except that Waltrip’s crew chief was suspended for only four races.

The penalty drops Edwards from 1st in the points standings all the way down to 7th as the series now heads to Atlanta, a track where the no. 99 swept both races in 2005 and has finished in the top-ten in six of their seven visits.

In related news, the National Stock Car Racing Commission made their decision on the appeal on Robby Gordon’s penalty rendered by NASCAR in Daytona last month. As you recall, the incident involving Gordon was that Dodge had mailed Robby Gordon Motorsports the wrong part, and it resulted in his team going into Speedweeks with an illegal nose for their Dodge Charger. NASCAR had originally ruled that the team would be docked 100 driver and owner points, crew chief Frank Kerr was to sit through a six-week suspension, and the team would be fined $100k for the infraction. On Wednesday afternoon, however, the penalty was severely modified by the Racing Commission and they not only restored all of Gordon’s points, but also lifted the suspension on Frank Kerr. They did, however, raise the fine from $100k to $150k, making it the largest fine ever to be assessed by NASCAR. The team still considers the decision a victory, though, as it takes Gordon from 37th in the points standings all the way back up to 21st.

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