Baldwin fined $10,000 for incident at Chicago

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- NASCAR on Tuesday fined Kasey Kahne's crew chief $10,000 and put him on probation for his role in a fight in Tony Stewart's pit during the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend.

	Tommy Baldwin

NASCAR fined Tommy Baldwin $5,000 for violating a rule prohibiting altercations in another team's pit area. He was fined $5,000 for not controlling other team members and was placed on probation until Dec. 31.

Baldwin, who was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for testing before next month's Brickyard 400, declined to comment until Tuesday's track session was completed.

The fight in Stewart's pit Sunday happened after Stewart, running third, bumped Kahne, the race leader, on a restart midway through Sunday's race. Kahne spun headfirst into the wall, putting him out of the race.

Baldwin and his crew went to Stewart's pit, where a heated discussion turned into a shoving match, with crew members falling over tires until NASCAR officials separated the two sides. Ray Evernham, Kahne's car owner, later said that if Stewart wasn't suspended he would give the driver a good beating.

Only Baldwin was penalized by NASCAR.

"NASCAR has made its decision; now it's time to move on," Evernham said in a statement. "I understand why Tommy and the team reacted the way they did in the heat of competition.

"NASCAR has rules. I agree with rules. Evernham Motorsports also has rules. NASCAR has made its decision and imposed its penalties. Now, I will impose the appropriate penalties for Evernham Motorsports.

"This is behind us now. As a team, our focus is on the upcoming events and the future."