NASCAR Has Issues With #99

I know there are many ways to push the limit in NASCAR. But whatever happened to just competing fairly? I'm not saying the #99 team cheated, but, when five Nationwide teams were penalized after Daytona for the same thing, why on Earth would you try to get away with it?

Carl Edwards' Sprint Cup victory in the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will stand, but he's likely to lose some of the driver and owner points he earned after NASCAR officials found "an issue" with his No. 99 Ford in post-race inspection late Sunday.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Edwards' car did not fail post-race inspection. But inspectors did find something amiss.

"We had an issue in post-race inspection with the 99. The lid on the oil reservoir encasement, or the oil tank box, was off," Poston said. "So we're going to take the 99 back to the [NASCAR] Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., and if there are any actions that need to be taken, those will be taken and announced next week."

Earlier this season at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR officials discovered five Nationwide Series cars to have a similar problem during post-race inspection following their season-opening race. Each of the teams eventually were docked 25 driver and 25 owner points.

Poston said the situation with Edwards' car was not quite the same.

"It was similar. In those cases, the lids were loose," Poston said. "The lid on the 99 was off."

Is this a defect with the beloved "Car of Tomorrow" or is it just another case of someone breaking the rules to get ahead in the race? I guess we'll find out soon. Will Carl Edwards' crew chief be happy with the outcome, or will be be spending a lot of time playing with his xbox 360 for the next few weeks?

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