Reiser, Francis hit with four-race suspensions (cont'd)

"To be clear on my position regarding NASCAR's decision to penalize the infraction, I respect and accept NASCAR's determination that the car was out of compliance as it was inspected after Sunday's qualifying attempt."

Neither the financial nor the point penalties were NASCAR highs, but the number of top-level crew chiefs who cannot participate in the remainder of Speedweeks 2007 was significant.

The largest monetary fine for a crew chief ironically came when Evernham was docked $60,000 for the "use of parts that do not conform to NASCAR license" on driver Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

In May 2000, car owner Michael Kranefuss was docked 151 owner points and the driver of his No. 12 Penske/Kranefuss Ford, Jeremy Mayfield, was docked 151 driver points for "use of fuel by a competitor that does not meet NASCAR specifications."

Kahne and Kenseth's infractions were discovered following Sunday's Bud Pole Award qualifying session for the Daytona 500 and their qualifying times were disallowed. Kenseth had qualified 11th and Kahne 28th.

They will both start the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race on Thursday at the rear of the field, but due to their position in the 2006 owner points, they are both guaranteed starts in the Daytona 500.

Sadler and Riggs' infraction, which according to Pemberton involved "holes drilled in the fasteners that hold the rear spoiler to the deck lid to leak air out of the trunk area," was discovered in pre-qualifying inspection.

NASCAR said no determination had yet been made on a "substance" found in the intake manifold of the engine in Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 Toyota, after which the manifold was confiscated; or the release of the entire car and second manifold, which were impounded following Waltrip's 24th-place qualifying run.

"We're still evaluating that right now and we'll get to it as soon as we can," Pemberton said. "ASAP, that's all I can tell you."

Waltrip's next Nextel Cup practice is at noon ET Wednesday.

All four teams can appeal the penalties, Pemberton said.

It was the second consecutive Speedweeks in which a team received a significant penalty for a qualifying infraction. Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Chad Knaus was suspended for four races and fined $25,000 last year for engineering a device that repositioned driver Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet's rear window while qualifying.

The team went on to win the Daytona 500 and another race, and finish second and sixth in the other despite lacking Knaus. Pemberton said that following a recent trend, NASCAR had stiffened its penalties in light of the new violations.

"The 48 team is a great race team and they've got a lot of depth," Pemberton said of the team's success without its leader. "We'll continue to raise the penalties as time goes forward until we get everybody's attention."

None of the teams penalized immediately said they would appeal the penalties, and only Roush announced a replacement for his crew chief when he named Chip Bolin, longtime engineer on the No. 17 team, as the interim crew chief for the remainder of Speedweeks and throughout Reiser's suspension, which lasts through the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 18.

"I have full confidence in Chip, Matt and the guys," Reiser said. "This group has been together for so long and they know how to get the job done. We've got fast cars, a great team and a great driver, and if I have done my job as a crew chief, then there's no reason this setback should keep us from competing for wins during my absence at the track." (Continued)