Four Teams Caught Cheating At Daytona Qualifying

Last year, when Chad Knaus was caught cheating during qualifying at Daytona, I said,

If NASCAR doesn't start handing down real punishments on those who cheat, the entire credibility of the sport is at stake. They need to come up with something a bit more harsh than sending the guy home to sip beer and watch the race from the comfort of his easy chair.

Knaus was fined $25,000 and suspended for four races. A proverbial slap on the wrist.

So, did NASCAR "get tough" this year when more teams were caught cheating than at any other time in NASCAR history?

Four crew chiefs have been suspended – but not ejected – from the Daytona 500 as NASCAR made the unprecedented move Tuesday of deducting points from teams before the start of the season.

It is the most crew chiefs sent home in a single race in NASCAR history.

Crew chief Ken Francis of Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Dodge Charger and crew chief Robbie Reiser of Matt Kenseth's No. 19 Ford Fusion have been suspended for four races and fined $50,000.

Kahne and Kenseth lost 50 championship points while team owners Jack Roush and Ray Evernham were penalized 50 car owner points. Both teams' qualifying times were disallowed.

Also, crew chiefs Rodney Childers, who works for Scott Riggs, and Josh Brown, who works for Elliott Sadler, have been suspended two races and fined $25,000 with 25 points deducted from both driver and team owner.

Sure, the fines are doubled in two of the cases, but the only significant factor for these teams is the points deduction. Kahne and Kenseth are two of NASCAR's brightest stars. Kenseth is a former Cup champion. Starting the year 50 points in the red will have quite an impact on both of those teams. But will the other teams really "get the message"? I'm still not sure these penalties are harsh enough…