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BREAKING NEWS: Truex Faces Hurdles After Car Seized
Written by: Tom Jensen   
07/03/2008 - 03:51 PM
Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
The car driven by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex is being gone over by NASCAR inspectors prior to being seized on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. (Tom Jensen Photo) ยป More Photos

NASCAR’s seizure of the No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet driven by Martin Truex Jr. could have devastating effects for the team, perhaps costing Truex a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the millions of dollars in rewards that come with making the Chase.

Truex’s primary DEI Chevrolet was taken by NASCAR late Thursday afternoon, when its roofline failed to meet the templates during pre-practice inspection for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

When NASCAR introduced its new-generation race car last season, it told the Sprint Cart teams that it would have a zero-tolerance policy for altering the bodies on the cars. To emphasize that point, last year NASCAR hit DEI and Hendrick Motorsports each with 100-point penalties for illegal body modifications.

And in May 2008, Haas-CNC Racing was penalized 150 points for illegal rear-wing mounts on its two Sprint Cup cars, infractions that were discovered prior to the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

While NASCAR likely will not announce what, if any, penalties it will hand out until next week, if it hits Truex with a 150-point penalty, it would be a potentially crushing blow for the team.

Truex currently is 14th in NASCAR Sprint Cup points, just 71 points away from 12th place,
the final eligible position for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. If Truex is penalized 150 points, it would be exceedingly difficult for him to make up that gap in the eight races that will remain in NASCAR’s regular season following Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

And the difference between making the Chase and missing it is literally millions of dollars, both in NASCAR bonus money and sponsor incentives.

SPEEDtv.com will continue to follow this story all weekend from Daytona.

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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