Mayfield's crew chief fined, suspended for two races

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joe Lax, crew chief for the No. 36 Toyota driven by Jeremy Mayfield in the Nextel Cup Series, has been fined $25,000, suspended from NASCAR competition until Sept. 19 and placed on probation until Dec. 31 due to rule violations last week at California Speedway.

Prior to qualifying, Lax was found to have violated Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock-car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment not conforming to NASCAR rules); 20-2.3 (added car weight); and 12-4W (improperly attached weight; weight installed inside water container).

Those infractions also have resulted in a loss of 25 championship driver points for Mayfield and a loss of 25 championship car owner points for Gail Davis.

In addition, Steve Lane, crew chief for the No. 40 Dodge driven by David Stremme, has been fined $2,500 because the team's scorer, Joel Charpentier, left the scoring area prior to the completion of this past Sunday's event at California Speedway. Lane was in violation of Sections 12-4A and 9-4A (crew chief assumes responsibility for actions of team members).