NASCAR sent a strong statement on the 12th of November 2012. That was the day after the Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). If a punishment is handed down on Monday and not a Tuesday, NASCAR is taking the situation seriously.
The four people that were punished on Monday were the 15 cup crew chief Brian Pattie, 24 cup crew chief Alen Gustafson, 24 cup driver Jeff Gordon and 2 cup driver Brad Keseloski. Also the punishment affected Rick Hedrick as he is the owner of the 24 cup car.
Brian Pattie, cup crew chief on the 5 Hour Energy Toyota Camery is on probation until December 31, 2012. NASCAR sited that the crew chief violated sections 12-1 and 9-4A of the 2012 rulebook. 12-1 states actions detrimental to stock car racing. 9-4A states at all events, crew chiefs assumes responsibility of his driver, car owner and team members. Pattie was fined $25,000 and is on probation until December 31, 2012.
Micheal Waltrip Racing (MWR) issued a stament on the punishment: "The goal of Michael Waltrip Racing is to be a championship-level organization, both on and off the track," MWR said in a statement. "The on-track incident ... was extremely disappointing and brought raw emotions of a long and hard championship battle to the surface. Though we generally cannot control certain actions on the track, the unfortunate reactions off the track Sunday did not live up to the professional standards in which Michael Waltrip Racing expects all of its representatives to live by. We commit to our sponsors, our manufacturer, our fans and NASCAR that we will do so in the future."
Alen Gustafson, cup crew chief for the 24 DuPont/Drive to End Hunger/Pepsi Max Chevy Impala was found to be in violation of 9-4A in the 2012 rulebook. 9-4A states at all events, crew chiefs assumes responsibility of his driver, car owner and team members. Gustafson was placed on probation until December 31, 2012.
Jeff Gordon, driver of the number 24 DuPont/Drive to End Hunger/Pepsi Max Chevy Impala is on probation until December 31,2012 for violating rule 12-1 of the 2012 rulebook. 12-1 states actions detrimental to stock car racing. The 24 driver was fined $100,000 and lost 25 driver points. Car owner, Rick Hendrick, lost 25 owner points as well.
Jeff Gordon issued a statement on the punishment he received: "I take responsibility for my actions on the race track," Gordon said. "I accept NASCAR's decision and look forward to ending the season on a high note at Homestead."
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) issued a statement on the punishment the 24 team received: "I've always respected Jeff for standing his ground," Hendrick said. "We also respect that NASCAR needs to police the sport and send a message when situations like this occur. It's been a great year, and we're going to put our focus on finishing in a positive way this weekend."
Brad Keseloski, driver of the number 2 Miller Lite Dodge was fined $25,000. NASCAR cited 12-1 and 20-6.7A in the 2012 rulebook. 12-1 of the 2012 rulebook states actions detrimental to stock car racing. According to the 2012 rulebook. 20-6.7A states, cars and drivers will not be permitted to carry onboard computers, automated electronic recording devices, electronically actuated devices, power distribution modules, power conditioners, micro-processors, recording devices, electronic digital memory chips, traction control devices, digital readout gauges and the like, even if inoperable or incomplet.
MWR is not appealing the decision handed down by NASCAR. HMS is not appealing the decision handed down by NASCAR.
All of the above information came from http://www.nascar.com/news/121112/jgordon-bkeselowski-cbowyer-crew-chief-penalties/index.html
I think NASCAR made a statement by issuing the punishments on Monday. Think about it. There have been many punishments this season but how many were issued on Monday? Maybe two at most and that includes this one. NASCAR usually hands down punishments on Tuesday.
