Harvick, McMurray fined, placed on probation

If a recent trend continues, a large portion of drivers in the Nextel Cup garage will be on probation by the time the Pepsi 400 rolls around in July.

NASCAR announced Wednesday that Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick have been fined $25,000 and placed on probation until Oct. 3 for an incident that occurred under the final caution of Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

The sanctioning body penalized the two drivers for what appeared to be intentional and unnecessary contact between the two cars after the caution froze the field on the white-flag lap of a green-white-checkered finish.

"This particular incident was brought to our attention after the race, when we were reviewing the finishing order," NASCAR spokesperson Kerry Tharp said. "If you recall, we had to go back and look at the videotape and the scoring loops to determine the finishing order after the race ended under caution.

"It was brought to our attention then, and we reviewed the video again on Tuesday, as we normally do. We had discussions as a group and agreed that it warranted a penalty."

McMurray, through a spokesperson, declined to talk about the incident until his scheduled stand-up session with the media Friday at Richmond International Raceway. Harvick could not be reached for comment.

Harvick likewise will be available Friday, but his public relations representative, Stacie Fandel, said both drivers were surprised by the severity of NASCAR's penalty. Fandel said McMurray's car, which was low on fuel, apparently sputtered on the final restart, causing contact with Harvick and Tony Stewart.

Unaware that McMurray was out of gas, Harvick reportedly retaliated by leaving a tire mark on McMurray's car as the incident escalated.

Stewart and Juan Montoya already are on probation until Dec. 31 for earlier incidents. Though Montoya incurred his penalty for an "inappropriate gesture" during Busch Series practice at Phoenix, he can violate his probation through detrimental conduct in any of NASCAR's series.