NASCAR had no choice when assessing penalties

Gentlemen, start your jaw-dropping.

Jeff Gordon thought he and his crewmates on the No. 24 Chevrolet he drives for Hendrick Motorsports already had paid a deep enough price for technical violations discovered during initial inspection last Friday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. After all, both he and fellow Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson of the No. 48 Chevrolet already had been barred from a key pre-race practice session and sent to near the rear of the 43-car field for the start of last Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350.

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"I think the punishment [last] Friday fit the crime," Gordon had insisted after the race. "I think anything more than that is going to be extremely disappointing, and really kind of a jaw-dropper."

But deep down, Gordon had to know better than to believe the words even as they tumbled out of his own mouth.

After Nextel Cup officials discovered a 10-inch piece of front fender that they believed had been modified illegally on each of the Hendrick Motorsports cars during initial inspection at Infineon, and even after the initial punishments had been assessed the following morning, it was a virtual certainty that more was on the way.

It arrived Tuesday afternoon just before 4 p.m. ET, when NASCAR announced that Gordon and Johnson each were penalized 100 driver championship points, and that their crew chiefs -- Steve Letarte for Gordon and Chad Knaus for Johnson -- have each been fined $100,000, suspended for the next six Nextel Cup Series events, and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2007.

Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 24 car, also was penalized 100 car owner championship points -- as was Gordon, who is owner of the No. 48.

Were the penalties fair?

Too little?

Too much?

Well, the fact is that NASCAR had little or no choice but to levy the exact same penalties it laid on driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his No. 8 Chevrolet team for mounting rear-wing brackets illegally on a Car of Tomorrow at Darlington Raceway six weeks earlier.

Anything less would have made it seem that the sanctioning body was going too easy on Hendrick Motorsports, by far the most dominating operation in the Nextel Cup garage these days. Anything more would have seemed like they were attempting to level out the playing field for everyone else.

So in this case, NASCAR got it right for once -- assuming it got it right the first time, when it socked Earnhardt's team with the same penalties for similar violations and sent the very clear message that messing with the Car of Tomorrow will not be tolerated today or any day.

Penalties announced

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were hit with severe penalties on Tuesday following their infractions at Sonoma.

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Of course, there will be those who argue that the Hendrick teams actually broke four rules -- violating Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car, parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); 20-2.1E (parts or components of the car not previously approved by NASCAR that have been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance will not be permitted); and 20-H (fenders may not be cut or altered except for wheel or tire clearance, which must be approved by the Series Director) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book.

That mouthful came from straight from the official release announcing the penalties out of the home office in Daytona Beach, Fla., and ended up sounding so ominous that Gordon, Johnson and their crew chiefs might actually be feeling lucky they haven't been dispatched to Death Row at a maximum security prison.

At least now we know for sure that there is a rule book for NASCAR. No one could make that much technical mumbo-jumbo up on the fly, could they?

I mean, who knew there was a Section 20-2.1E in the official rule book? (And, no, conspiracy theorists, the 'E' has nothing to do with Earnhardt).

The real impact on Gordon and Johnson as they continue to pursue their places at the head of the table in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship will be felt in their pit boxes on race day, as both are likely to miss the special rapports they have developed with their respective and now suspended crew chiefs.

The loss of 100 points did not knock Gordon out of first place in the driver standings, and it dropped Johnson only from third to fifth, so this blow is not likely to place either of them in danger of falling out of the top 12 who qualify for the 10-race Chase. Plus, they each have a season-tying high four race victories under their belts, which will translate into 40 bonus points each at the start of the Chase and no doubt will help improve their seeding.

The response from the Hendrick camp was about what one would expect. Owner Rick Hendrick released a statement feigning surprise and disgust at the severity of the penalties, and suggesting that an appeal of all of the above might be in order.

Good luck with that. Charles Manson had about the same chance of winning an appeal back in the day as anyone does of winning one in today's NASCAR.

"We are disappointed in NASCAR's decision and feel the penalties are excessive," Hendrick said. "Right now, all of our options are being evaluated, including our personnel situation and a possible appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission.

"We'll take some time to decide on a direction and make an announcement regarding our plans for New Hampshire later in the week."

Oh, yes, New Hampshire. There is a race there this Sunday. And Rule No. 1, Section 1A of the NASCAR rule book is very clear on at least one subject: no matter what the distractions or side shows, the show must go on.

And it will.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.