NASCAR issues penalties for post-Texas tangle

Crew members from both the 24 (Gordon) and 5 (Kahne) teams also drew sanctions. Hendrick crewman Jeremy Fuller (No. 5 team) along with Dwayne Doucette and Jason Ingle (No. 24 team) were each fined $25,000 and suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points races. All three were found to be in violation of actions detrimental to stock car racing and a behavioral penalty for being involved in a post-race altercation with a driver on pit road.

Additionally, Dean Mozingo — a crewmember for the No. 24 team — was fined $10,000 and suspended through the next three Sprint Cup Series championship points races for the same violations.

“While the intensity and emotions are high as we continue through the final rounds of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the actions that we saw from several crew members Sunday following the race at Texas are unacceptable,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR senior vice president/competition and racing development in a release. “We reviewed the content that was available to us of the post-race incident along pit road, and identified several crew members who crossed the line with their actions, specifically punching others.”

“We therefore have penalized four crew members as well as their crew chiefs, as they ultimately are responsible for members of their team per the NASCAR rulebook,” Pemberton continued. “A NASCAR championship is at stake, but we can’t allow behavior that crosses the line to go unchecked, particularly when it puts others in harm’s way.”

In a statement, Hendrick Motorsports announced it would not appeal the penalties. Team owner Rick Hendrick added that the affected crewmembers would not face additional internal discipline.

“With NASCAR’s new Chase format, we’re seeing an unprecedented level of intensity every single week,” Hendrick said. “Emotions run high when you’re racing for a championship, and that’s exciting for our fans and everyone involved with the sport. But there’s a line the competitors need to be cognizant of, and we understand that. Jeff was rightfully fired up Sunday night, and it just reiterated to me how passionate he is and how much he wants to win. The No. 24 team is a group that works together and is loyal to one another. They have our full support as we go into these final two races.”

In a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Doug Duchardt said that the organization will be paying the fines, which totaled $185,000.

“We will as a team incur that and we won’t put that on the crew members,” Duchardt said. “We just have to pay the penalties and move on and hopefully we won’t find ourselves in that situation again.”

Keselowski, at the center of the altercation after his late-race contact with Gordon’s car sparked the disagreement, was not punished. He remains under probation until Nov. 12 — after this Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Phoenix International Raceway — for his post-race actions Oct. 11 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Earlier on Tuesday, before the penalties were announced, in an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said that the sanctioning body was prepared to dole out some “harsh punishment.”

“People that were involved in the post-race altercation in terms of throwing punches and doing things that are over the line for us, we’ll be dealing with that with some harsh punishment,” France said.”

Gordon confronted Keselowski after contact between the two cut a tire on Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet during a late-race restart. Gordon, who had restarted as the race leader, continued after his spin caused the last of 13 caution periods, but wound up one lap down by the checkered flag.

Gordon removed his helmet and walked toward Keselowski as tensions and proximity among the teams’ crew members increased. Once Harvick pushed Keselowski closer to the fray, the pushing intensified and some punches landed.

Pemberton on Sunday said after the race that the on-track altercation was attributed to hard racing, adding that “this is a contact sport” and that this year’s new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff format has ratcheted up the pressure. He said Sunday that officials would take their time in reviewing footage of the pit-road incident before reaching a decision.

“You just look at it as a whole with the people that were involved,” Pemberton said Sunday. “There’s a lot that went on with all the race teams over the past couple months of hard racing, so you have to look at everything out there post-race.”

Keselowski finished third to better his standing in the middle leg of the three-race Eliminator Round, the last cut-off point before the Chase field is whittled from eight to four drivers. Gordon, who entered the Texas event as the points leader after the opening Eliminator Round race at Martinsville, sunk to fourth place among the eight as a result of his 29th-place finish.

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