Originally Posted on February 12, 2007 on Foxsports.com
During qualifying for Sunday's Daytona 500, Nascar impounded one car and disallowed the times on two others. No other penalties, in the form of fines, suspensions or loss of points, (and aside from the impoundment), have yet been imposed.
Both Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne had their qualifying times disallowed for the 500. This is similar to the driver/team penalty Nascar imposed for Jimmie Johnson last year. Johnson went on to win the 500, despite the penalty. Both Kenseth and Kahne have guaranteed starting positions as they both finished in the top 35 in owner's points at the end of last season.
The aerodynamic enhancements involved strategically placed holes. Kenseth's were in the wheel wells of the car, according to published reports. Kahne's innovations haven't been fully disclosed.
Nascar's Jim Hunter commented that the Kenseth & Kahne improvements to aerodynamics were considered to be as serious as Chad Knaus's enhancements last year to the #48. Last year, Knaus, Jimmie Johnson's crew chief, was suspended three races for tampering with the rear window of the car. Knaus had previously been in trouble for illegal/gray area modifications, so the three race suspension was viewed as somewhat reasonable. As neither Robbie Reiser (Kenseth's crew chief) nor Kenny Francis (Kahne's team director) have a recent history of stepping over the line, a three race suspension may be viewed as harsh. And, thus far, neither has been escorted from the premises as Knaus was last year. On the other hand, both owners, Jack Roush and Ray Evernham, have a speckled history with complying with the rulebook.
The impounded car belongs to Michael Waltrip. During inspection, Waltrip's intake manifold was confiscated by Nascar. Nascar was concerned about a substance that appeared on the intake manifold, so inspectors seized the manifold to have the substance tested in North Carolina. Waltrip's team has claimed that the substance was oil thrown from the engine. Nascar seems skeptical of this explaination - why else impound the car?
After his qualifying run, Waltrip's entire car was impounded. He will need to have another car to run the Gatorade Duels on Thursday and to run the Daytona 500 on Sunday. His qualifying time was allowed to stand, and he currently is clocked in the 24th position.
As Waltrip is not locked into the field, he needs to win the Duel or finish first or second in the group of outside the top 35 in owner's points.
The outrage over Knaus-Gate last year lingered through the Chase. Some non-Johnson fans claim that his win of the Championship was tainted by the problems at Daytona.
Now a former Champion and last year's winner of the most races have been implicated in a cheating scandal. Will the fallout be as big as last year? Will Nascar put some teeth in rulebook enforcement? Or will it come down harder on team owners who continue to violate the rules?
Should how the teams finish the Duels dictate what the penalties are? What if Kenseth and Kahne are caught up in an accident on the opening laps of the Duel because of the disallowed qualification times - should that matter to how many points they lose for the enhancement?
I thought the penalty handed out to Knaus was reasonable last year. He had violated the spirit if not the letter of the law on several occasions. I'm not sure that I'd view a three race suspension for Reiser or Francis as reasonable. But then again, I'm not sure I know all the facts as to what was done to modify the car.
Waltrip's car seems like a bit murkier area. If Nascar can't tell whether something is illegal or not, the impoundment may be a big enough punishment (Remember that Nascar STILL has a car body of Tony Stewart from Texas in 2003 and one from Kyle Busch that same year).
We'll see what Nascar decides to do about penalties this year. Then again, with as well as Johnson finished last year, maybe everyone wants to emulate him, starting with penalties at Daytona.
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