NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: NASCAR Fines Drivers
NASCAR has long had a history of cracking down on rebellious drivers...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted July 26, 2010   Charlotte, NC
Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host the Nationwide Series in 2012 for the first time. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
NASCAR sources have confirmed to SPEED.com an Associated Press report that at least two of the sport’s premier drivers have been fined for comments that the sanctioning body viewed as detrimental to the sport.

The names of the drivers have not been confirmed and apparently will not be released, but the AP report said one driver was fined as much as $50,000.

In its history, NASCAR has acted sternly when it felt drivers were conducting themselves in ways harmful to the sport.

The most celebrated examples came when drivers tried to organize themselves: Curtis Turner and Tim Flock were suspended for life in 1961 by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. when they aligned themselves with the Teamsters labor union. The organizing effort failed and the two drivers essentially had their careers ended, although they were reinstated by France in 1965.

Eight years after Turner and Flock were suspended, Richard Petty led another effort to organize the drivers through a group called the Professional Drivers Association. But after boycotting the inaugural race at Talladega Superspeedway, four days later Petty and David Pearson raced in Columbia, S.C., with most of the big-name drivers returning the following week at Martinsville.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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