Knaus back at track while Melling appeals
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
March 22, 2001
5:55 PM EST (2255 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- Chad Knaus, crew chief of the No. 92 Kodiak Dodge driven by Stacy Compton, will work with his Melling Racing team in this weekend's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway after team owner Mark Melling appealed Knaus' $5,000 fine and two-race suspension to NASCAR officials.
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Until a decision is made in his appeal, Knaus will act as crew chief.
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Knaus was scheduled to immediately begin serving a two-race suspension levied Wednesday by NASCAR for not having a seat belt "date manufactured" tag that was discovered March 9 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Matt Chambers, crew chief of the Roush Racing No. 97 JR's Garage Ford driven by Kurt Busch, received the same penalty as Knaus, but did not appeal it.
The team acknowledged that a set of belts that were removed from a "new box" actually had a "manufactured in 1995" tag on them.
The team speculated that the belts were re-packaged in the wrong box when the organization changed its shop location from Liberty, North Carolina, to Concord, North Carolina.
According to NASCAR rules, safety harnesses have a five-year life span before they must be replaced.
The crew chiefs were penalized under Section 12-4-Q in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book: "Any determination by NASCAR Officials that parts and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform... or have not been approved by NASCAR..."
Melling Racing is appealing NASCAR's fine and suspension of Knaus, which postpones the penalties until the appeal decision is made. If Knaus is forced to miss any races his team will replace him with a "crew chief by committee."
Chambers' role at Bristol and next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway will be assumed by Jeff Burton's NASCAR Busch Series crew chief, Tommy Morgan, with assistance from Roush Racing team manager Buddy Parrott, a former NWCS crew chief.
The Roush spokesperson said Chambers would remain at the team's shop "building new cars and getting ready for our new sponsor announcement" which is scheduled to take place within the next two weeks.
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