Edwards dinged 25 points in wake of Dover infraction

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Carl Edwards, winner of Sunday's Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, has been penalized 25 driver championship points due to rule violations found in post-race inspection.

The loss of points dropped Edwards from third in the Chase standings to sixth, 28 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

The No. 99 Ford driven by Edwards was found to be too low in the right rear area, which 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); and 20-12.8.1C (failed to meet minimum rear car heights) of NASCAR Car of Tomorrow Technical Bulletin No. 3, dated April 10, 2007.

"We have the misfortune of violating a rule which makes no sense," said Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith. "It was promulgated to address restrictor-plate races, not downforce races. I say misfortune because we are being penalized for a violation that actually impaired the car's performance."

In addition, those infractions have resulted in a $25,000 fine for Edwards' crew chief Bob Osborne, plus a penalty of 25 car owner championship points for Roush Fenway Racing. Osborne also has been placed on probation until Dec. 31.

"The only thing I can think of is at the end of the race, Greg came up and gave me a couple of love taps to say 'good job, good race' and hopefully they find that that bent the tail of the car down a little bit," Edwards said after the race. "There are some braces bent under the decklid so hopefully that's what it is."

A similar infraction occurred at New Hampshire in July, when the cars of Johnny Sauter and Kyle Busch failed to meet minimum height requirements. NASCAR took away 25 points apiece and fined each crew chief $25,000.

"We intend to appeal the unfair assessment of the point's penalty," Smith said. "What is unfair is that Carl is receiving a penalty that is 250 percent greater in its effect than a similarly assessed penalty against a non-'Chase' driver. 'Chase' drivers are competing for a total of 1,950 points. All drivers competed for 5,070 points in the first 26 races. Do the math. The net effect is that a 25 point penalty falls unfairly hard on a Chase contender. That's simply not right. To equalize the penalty impact on all competitors not more than 10 points should have been taken from a Chase contender."