Head2Head: Consistency

Consistency and NASCAR sometimes go together like a racing slick and a wet racetrack.

But in the case of penalties assessed to teams for violations dealing with the new car, NASCAR has been amazingly consistent. And that proved to be the case again this week, when Carl Edwards' No. 99 was penalized 100 points, fined $100,000 and crew chief Bob Osborne was sent to the sidelines for six weeks.

That's basically the same penalty NASCAR handed out to teams that ran afoul of the rulebook in 2007, whether they did it on purpose or by accident.

When the rear wing brackets on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 Chevrolet at Darlington were not the ones approved by NASCAR, that team received a similar penalty, even though crew chief Tony Eury Jr. admitted it was an honest mistake.

"It was a part that got put on there that shouldn't have," Eury said. "We've done a lot of offseason testing for NASCAR. There's been three different styles of brackets on there and it just happened to be one of those old-style brackets. I was definitely not trying to get away with nothing, so you can take it for what it is."

When NASCAR found two of Rick Hendrick's cars had front fenders that were too wide at Infineon, both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were not allowed to practice or qualify until the cars were legal. And NASCAR followed up with the standard penalty of 100 points, $100,000.

And when Robby Gordon's Dodge was found to have an incorrect nose piece, one not approved by NASCAR, before this year's Daytona 500, the penalties were exactly the same. However, on Wednesday, the commission that handles appeals overturned the points deduction and increased the fine.

In this case, it's more than a matter of failing to meet a measurement, as was the case last September when Edwards' car was found to be too low in post-race inspection and NASCAR handed down a 25-point penalty.

Does allowing the lid of the oil tank reservoir to come loose allow for a competitive advantage? An engineer might know for sure, but certainly NASCAR officials must feel there's some fire amid the smoke, since no less than five Nationwide Series cars were docked at Daytona for similar violations, with varying degrees of success in appeals.

And as someone pointed out, having an open oil tank reservoir is definitely a safety hazard. The idea of hot oil coming in contact with the driver -- or an open flame -- in the event of an accident is more than enough reason to crack down hard on the offending party, whether the bolt came loose on its own or by design.

Life is not black and white, nor is it one size fits all.

NASCAR needs to be reminded of these simplistic, yet fitting, statements with regards to its penal system.

The hammer of NASCAR dropped recently on Carl Edwards and the No. 99 team for an oil tank reservoir cap or cover coming off because Roush Fenway Racing officials argue the bolt holding it down faltered.

President Geoff Smith issued a statement Wednesday explaining what happened: "The bolt holding the lid in place failed in its purpose as a result of vibration harmonics generated by the car and the racetrack during the race. The bolt was secure enough to survive 225 miles of practice, perhaps up to 399 of 400 miles of the race and the scrutiny of numerous inspections."

And NASCAR admitted Edwards did not fail inspection.

So why penalize Edwards and the team for an alleged offense that was not malicious nor provided a significant amount of competitive advantage?

How can it? The oil reservoir is behind the drivers' seat inside the car. If anything, it was a safety hazard for Edwards and I'm confident the experts at Roush would not put their flagship driver in harm's way.

NASCAR's shoot now, ask questions later mentality has to be taken to task, much like Robby Gordon did this week. He gleaned a small victory by way of points returned after the driver appealed NASCAR's blanket penal tactics for an improper nose delivered from the manufacturer on his car in Daytona.

The National Stock Car Racing Commission reversed NASCAR's ruling after acknowledging the "extraordinary and unusual set of circumstances."

Edwards deserves the same treatment and Roush should appeal, although they feel the process is "unpleasant" and futile.

Carl Edwards was docked 100 driver points, Jack Roush was docked 100 owner points, crew chief Bob Osborne was fined $100,000, suspended for six races and placed on probation. And if the No. 99 makes the Chase, Edwards will not get the 10 bonus points for winning the Cup race in Las Vegas.

So if NASCAR is going to be consistent and treat everyone fair by handing down the same penalty, why should Edwards lose his bonus points for the win?

By issuing the same penalty for all, NASCAR has backed itself into a corner and has set a bad precedent. It's touting consistency but taking away Edwards' bonus points is not consistent with penalties handed out to Edwards and other new car offenders prior to this offense.