Larry Carter fined $10,000 for Harvick incident
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
October 23, 2001
9:25 AM EDT (1325 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Haas Carter Motorsports crew chief Larry Carter was hit with a $10,000 fine and placed on probation for the balance of the season Monday by NASCAR officials for his role in an altercation in Sunday’s Winston Cup EA Sports 500 presented by Dodge at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Larry Carter
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Carter, crew chief for Todd Bodine's No. 66 ride, was one of 10 crew chiefs fined a total of more than $61,000 Monday for a variety of offenses.
They included a $25,000 fine to winning crew chief Tony Eury when driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet was 1/8 of an inch below the minimum roof height requirement in post-race technical inspection.
Carter was fined for leaving his pit stall and confronting another crew in its pit area. He is also suspended from NASCAR until his fine is paid.
Carter reacted to an incident on the race track in which his driver, Todd Bodine, said his No. 66 Ford was hit and wrecked by Kevin’s Harvick’s No. 29 Chevrolet.
In addition to Bodine, the backstretch accident at the 2.66-mile superspeedway also involved Casey Atwood and Elliott Sadler, eliminating all three cars. Bodine finished 41st in the race after qualifying 21st and led one lap. Atwood and Sadler ended up in 39th and 40th, respectively.
Earnhardt Jr. kept his finishing despite the penalty, which mirrored what was delivered to Penske Racing crew chief Peter Sospenzo 18 months ago for a similar violation. After the April 30, 2000, NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California Speedway, winner Jeremy Mayfield’s car was found to be under the height requirement in post-race inspection.
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Casey Atwood (19) and Elliott Sadler were involved in the accident that wrecked Todd Bodine.
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In other penalties levied Monday:
Terry Spalding, team member of the No. 26 Haas Carter Motorsports Kmart Ford Taurus, was fined $5,000 and placed on indefinite suspension from NASCAR for the unauthorized use of his NASCAR License -- selling credentials.
Additional fines were levied against crew chiefs for rules violations discovered in inspections prior to the race. They were penalized under Section 12-4-Q in the 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…”
Bobby King, crew chief of driver Hut Stricklin’s No. 90 Ford and Michael McSwain of Ricky Rudd’s No. 28 Ford were each fined $5,000 for an illegal rear deck lid. Sospenzo, currently the chief mechanic for Mike Wallace’s No. 12 car, was fined $5,000 for an illegal fuel cell and $500 for illegal underpans.
Chad Knaus of Bud Pole winning driver Stacy Compton’s No. 92 Levi Garrett Dodge was fined $750 for illegal windshield clips that were too small and Jimmy Elledge of Bobby Hamilton’s No. 55 Square D Chevrolet was fined $2,500 for suspension travel limiting devices (bump stops).
Paul Andrews of Kenny Wallace’s No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet was fined $1,000 for illegal rear window braces and $1,250 for an unapproved air deflector, Slugger Labbe of Michael Waltrip’s No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was fined $250 for illegal rear window braces and Donnie Wingo of Jimmy Spencer’s No. 26 Kmart Ford was fined $250 for an unapproved air deflector.
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