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NASCAR showed again it won’t tolerate any modifications to its Car of Tomorrow by levying stiff penalties against Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and their crew chiefs Tuesday.
Gordon, the four-time series champion, and Johnson, the defending Nextel Cup champion, were each docked 100 points. Crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte were both fined $100,000 and suspended for six races because their cars failed an initial inspection at Infineon Raceway.
The penalties are a blow to Hendrick Motorsports, which has 10 wins this season — four each from Gordon and Johnson. Team owner Rick Hendrick said he was disappointed and called the punishment ”excessive.”
“Right now, all of our options are being evaluated, including our personnel situation and a possible appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission,” Hendrick said in a statement. “We’ll take some time to decide on a direction and make an announcement regarding our plans for New Hampshire later in the week.”
Excessive? Hardly.
How else are they going to curb cheating in the sport? Short of sending a driver home for the weekend, how else are they going to make them start abiding by the rules?
I think the penalty for Letarte was fair, since this was his first offense, but I think the penalty for Knaus was not severe enough. Why do I think that? Could it have anything to do with the fact that he has been suspended four times since 2001. NASCAR didn’t take that into consideration though, lucky for him.
I honestly didn’t expect Gordon and Johnson to receive the same penalty that Junior did a month ago. I am shocked at NASCAR’s consistency, but it’s a good shock.
