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Written by:
Tom Jensen
07/08/2008 - 05:16 PM
Harrisburg, N.C.
NASCAR threw the book at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and driver Martin Truex Jr. late Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) ยป More Photos
As expected, NASCAR threw the book at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and driver Martin Truex Jr. late Tuesday afternoon, with 150-point owner and driver penalties and six-week suspensions for crew chief Kevin Manion and the car chief Gary Putnam. Manion was also fined $100,000.
The net effect is that Truex’s hopes of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which already were tenuous, have now been devastated. The penalties dropped Truex from 14th in points to 18th, 238 points behind 12th-place Tony Stewart, with just eight races to go until the Chase field is set.
The difference between making the Chase and missing it is literally millions of dollars to the team and driver in bonuses and incentives. Last year, for example, champion Jimmie Johnson earned a point-fund bonus of $7,317,499 for winning the championship, while 10th-place Kevin Harvick earned an extra $1,366,535.
Those sums don’t count sponsor incentive payments to the driver and team for qualifying for the Chase. Those, too, can easily add up to seven figures, depending on the sponsor and where a driver finishes in the final standings.
And with Truex in the final year of his contract with DEI and so far not re-signed for 2009 and beyond, this penalty could have a chilling effect on the team’s attempts to strike a new deal. Add it all up and it’s potentially a huge and extremely costly mistake for the team.
Truex’s DEI Chevy failed July 3rd opening-day inspection prior to practice for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway because its roof did not fit NASCAR’s templates.
The penalties NASCAR issued late Tuesday afternoon
Dale Earnhardt Inc. vice president of motorsports operations John Story issued the following statement after NASCAR’s ruling: “We are still trying to understand how the car fit our templates multiple times at the shop, but we respect NASCAR’s determination that one of our cars did not exactly conform to their template at the track. We have not decided if we will pursue our options to appeal. Under NASCAR’s rules, we have 10 days to notify the sanctioning body of any appeal.”
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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