Posted on by Zack Albert

Going into the Chase, Edwards focuses his efforts on staying ahead of the contenders 

CHICAGO — One of the more unlikely championship contenders for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has been in this situation before. Yet he’s laid low and steered clear of the spotlight despite residing in the upper tier of the points race for the bulk of the season. 

After Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway, he emerged in first place in the Sprint Cup standings before the points were reset for the 10-race playoffs.

Few people were more surprised than Carl Edwards to see his No. 99 atop the heap.

“Yeah, I am under my own radar,” Edwards said Thursday during NASCAR Chase Media Day at Chicago’s Navy Pier. “We got done with the Richmond race and I told the guys on Monday that I looked up at the scoreboard and I didn’t understand what the order was. Someone told me that was the points. They said I won the points for the first 26 points. I thought that couldn’t be true, that we weren’t that fast. It turns out we are. 

“I would say that we are under the radar, and to say that is an understatement. I think we can do it. I feel really good about it.” 

Edwards’ triumph in last weekend’s Federated Auto Parts 400 was his second of 2013, but his first since the second race of the season, at Phoenix in March. With the win and dramatically improved performance over the last three weeks, Edwards was brimming with confidence on the eve of the first Chase race weekend at Chicagoland Speedway in nearby Joliet, Ill.

With all the hoopla and hubbub over team orders, manipulating race results and heavy penalties this week, it was easy to lose sight of Edwards’ return to title candidacy one year after missing the Chase and two years after finishing as the runner-up to eventual champion Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker. It also shifted the focus off the Richmond race’s final restart, where Edwards beat race leader Paul Menard to the start-finish line after Menard spun his much-older tires in an attempt to get going.

Edwards said since he lined up for the restart to Menard’s right, he could hear the leader’s throttle response through his header pipes through his driver door safety net. When Menard slipped after restarting the race, Edwards said he had a tenth of a second to decide whether to accelerate and cross the line first or slow to allow Menard to regain grip and risk stacking up the field.

Edwards chose the former.

“Fortunately NASCAR saw that he spun his tires and Paul said he spun the tires, but I think that is something that is very difficult,” said Edwards, who was not penalized. “What if he had 100 laps on the tires and not grip and the whole field had four? Are we all supposed to go at his pace? I don’t know the answer to that. I think that either, not just as the second-place guy, but as the leader it puts everyone in a tough position.”

In the wake of the Michael Waltrip Racing penalties that grew from the Richmond finish, the controversy recalled a slightly similar issue regarding helping teammates involving Edwards earlier this season. As Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle drove to his lone victory of the year at Michigan International Speedway in June, he opted not to fall back to assist Edwards in clearing a piece of debris from his grille in the late stages, prompting Edwards to say of Biffle, “He ain’t our teammate.”

While their Michigan flap certainly didn’t reach the scope or intent of MWR’s actions at Richmond, it did help to bring the longtime Roush stablemates closer together, thanks to a productive talk between Edwards and Biffle the following weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

“It has strengthened our organization,” Biffle said. “We understand each other and respect one another. We go out of our way to try to help one another. … I think that was a watershed moment in Roush Fenway that would make a difference long term. It is good it happened when it did, where it did and how it did.”

The turnaround didn’t happen in an instant after the Sonoma heart-to-heart as Edwards still lagged in performance. As he continued to accumulate consistent if not spectacular finishes to stay either second or third in points from April to September, Edwards still wasn’t contending for race wins, allowing frustration to mount during the midseason months. 

“That was not really a fun time because it is actually hard to complain about your performance when you are second in points but we knew we were not fast,” Edwards said. “There were guys way faster than us and we’ve turned that corner. It is better now. It is kind of hard to explain to people when they say, ‘Hey great, you are second in points.’ And you are like, ‘Yeah, but if the Chase started today we would be 10th.’ We aren’t in that position now, so that is good.”

Nothing typifies the shift in momentum for Edwards like the last three weeks. While engine failure derailed his shot at Bristol and a run-in with Jeff Gordon plus unfortunate pit timing stymied him at Atlanta, Edwards’ No. 99 Ford was running up front, leading laps and inserting its car number into the conversation for victories.

Despite the uptick in performance, Edwards couldn’t pinpoint any one factor in the improvement. He just hopes it continues.

“No, that is the interesting thing; it hasn’t been one thing,” Edwards said. “It is pretty interesting, when things start going bad, people can either split up and point fingers or rally together and work. (Roush Fenway general manager) Robbie Reiser, (owner) Jack Roush and all our guys, they are not guys that are going to jump up and down when they win and throw their hats when they lose. They will just keep working. We have hard-working guys, and that work is paying off. It seems like it is coming at the right time.”

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Says he felt bad for Truex Jr., other drivers, but NASCAR had to take action

Related: Harvick: Teamwork has its limits | Logano looking ahead | Bowyer tries to focus

CHICAGO — Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his name out of the running for head honcho of NASCAR Thursday, a decision he said was based in part on the collective fallout of this past weekend’s race at Richmond.
 
"I definitely don’t need to be running this sport," Earnhardt Jr., clad in his white and red driver’s uniform, said.
 
Such talk from the sport’s most popular driver — No. 1 at the box office and souvenir hauler — no doubt has them breathing a little easier in Daytona Beach.
 
His remark was only partly in jest. Earnhardt Jr. has been track president for a day (Daytona, circa 2004), but isn’t ready to give up his racing career.
 
It’s been an eventful week for NASCAR. Questions about the finish at Richmond, penalties against Michael Waltrip Racing that resulted in a change to the 12-team Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field, and inquiries into possible collusion between Penske Racing and Front Row Motorsports have dominated headlines.

This weekend’s Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway kicks off the 10-race charge to the title. On Thursday, much of the focus was elsewhere.
 
"I wouldn’t want to be in that situation," the Hendrick Motorsports driver said of the ruling body. "I don’t think I could handle it as well as they did.
 
"As much as everybody’s got an … opinion on what they would have done … I don’t know that I could handle those types of situations because it’s not been a fun week for them."
 
Earnhardt Jr. was the only competitor sporting his workday clothing. All 12 drivers present at the Navy Pier for this year’s Chase media day were wearing their fire-retardant uniforms.
 
Anticipating a heated line of questioning from the media? Not quite.
 
Actually, it was for an updated photo of those in the Chase. Last Saturday’s Richmond photo — captured on stage following the race — no longer passed muster once Martin Truex Jr. got the boot and Ryan Newman was added to the lineup.
 
The fan response to the week’s proceedings, particularly what transpired at Richmond, caught Earnhardt Jr. by surprise.
 
"I’m surprised that this surprised so many people," he said. "People didn’t think it was happening or were so surprised that this went on."
 
It’s a new twist to a familiar occurrence. Playing fast and loose with the rules has typically been a one-driver endeavor.
 
"In the past it’s been one guy with the flat tire that gets the caution, or that’s lost the draft at Talladega and is throwing roll bar padding out the window or something like that," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We’ve all done that or thought about doing it. It’s definitely a new twist on things."
 
Did NASCAR do the right thing with its penalties to MWR? Earnhardt Jr. said he isn’t sure. What was important, he said, was that they took action, something he’d like see more of in the future.
 
"It’s important for them to govern," he said. "We need them to make themselves known and they need to be the boss. We need to know that they’re there."
 
What about those involved, implicated or impacted by what has transpired? He said he feels bad for all of them — MWR drivers Clint Bowyer, Truex Jr. and Brian Vickers. Hendrick Teammate Jeff Gordon, too.
 
Truex Jr., once a teammate when the two were paired at Dale Earnhardt Inc., "probably had no idea what was going on," Earnhardt Jr. said.
 
"You feel bad for Jeff (Gordon) because he had worked his way all night long to get into a (Chase) position.
 
"I feel bad for Clint. I know Clint and I know what kind of person he is. I feel bad for him because he was part of something that is not a good reflection of his personality. It’s unfortunate. But he’ll be fine.
 
"It’s a unique thing. It’s a very fascinating situation."
 
Fascinating, yes. But similar to other things that have transpired in the sport, it has a limited shelf life.
 
Chicagoland and the Chase beckon.

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Logano contends that his pass of David Gilliland didn’t affect outcome of Chase field

Related: Full Chase coverage | Chase driver previews

CHICAGO — Joey Logano said he isn’t concerned about NASCAR’s on-going review of last Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. Instead, he said, he is “focused on trying to win Chicago right now. It’s not a distraction to me at all … I’m just here to race.”

It was reported Wednesday that NASCAR was investigating scanner conversation involving the No. 22 Penske Racing team of Logano and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team of David Gilliland.

In a statement issued Thursday morning, NASCAR officials said the sanctioning body is “continuing to gather all the facts” from the Sept. 7 event and “will have no further comment until all the facts have been examined.”

Logano passed Gilliland in the final stages of the race, a move that Logano contends was not the determining factor that allowed him to earn a position in this year’s Chase For The Sprint Cup.

“What I look at is if we didn’t pass 38 car, we’re still 10th in points and still got bonus points (for a previous win),” Logano said during the annual Chase media day at the Navy Pier. “So it has no (bearing) in the outcome of where we are right now. I don’t look at it as being a big deal at all.

“That stuff that happens week in and week out with spotters. They’re up there communicating back and forth, trying to make deals, ‘hey help me out here, I’ll help you out here, let’s work together.’ That happens all the time.”

According to an Associated Press report, Gilliland slowed on the white-flag lap, a move that allowed Logano to improve his finishing position from 23rd to 22nd. Radio scanner conversations from the No. 38 team referenced no conversations from Penske officials or its drivers in the AP report.

Penske Racing team president Tim Cindric, appearing on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Wednesday evening, said team owner Roger Penske “is not involved in trying to manipulate the outcome of a race or what have you.

“In fact, the first time Roger heard any of this stuff was (Wed.) afternoon,” he said. “…What I’ve seen has been totally blown out of proportion by a radio conversation that Penske didn’t have anything to do with."

Penske “has spent his lifetime creating the integrity that he has and the organization has,” Cindric said. “It’s difficult to listen when people challenge that.  … The facts are there was no radio communication on our side.”

Logano did benefit from the actions of Michael Waltrip drivers Brian Vickers and Clint Bowyer at Richmond, but said what those drivers did or didn’t do doesn’t affect his feeling that his team deserves to be among this year’s 12 Chase participants.

“One win, eight top-fives and 13 or 14 top-10s,” Logano said of his team’s second-half record. “If you look at those numbers, that’s every bit of a top three or four (points position) this half of the season.

“I don’t feel bad being in the Chase at all; we deserve to be in if you look at those numbers.

“We’re in the Chase and we’re here to race. We’ll take the bonus points (earned by virtue of his win and finishing 10th or better in points through Richmond). We won the race (earlier this year at Michigan) so we deserve them.”

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Make selections for the race at Chicagoland by Friday, Sept. 13

Support your favorite driver and see their in-car camera on race day.

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Profiles of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

Get complete coverage of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

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After the dust from the MWR scandal has settled, Johnson feels that a change is necessary

CONCORD, N.C. – Jimmie Johnson is not a controversial guy. He’s a five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, one of the most popular drivers on the planet and known for his even keel and steady demeanor.

That said, he’s advocating that NASCAR adopt a red-flag review process and beef up its officiating crew to help prevent events from unfolding as they did last Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

“The overall issue in officiating is, we need to expect things when we get to Chase time and really year- round,” Johnson said Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway as part of the Chase Across America program. “NASCAR should have people–they should staff up instead of downsizing–to be part of the race officiating. Not only from the aspect of what we’re talking about now [the finish of the race at RIR], but when you get down to restarts and a lot of other things that take place. It’s tough for the tower to take care of it all. They need more people, qualified people with resources and technology, to make these decisions.

“In my opinion, if there’s a question and they don’t know the answer, they need to stop the race immediately. Red flag, pits are closed, make the best judgment they can, because coming back on Monday or Tuesday to try and fix the situation is just too much.”

In short, he’s lobbying for NASCAR to do the same things that other major professional sports leagues do: stop the clock, look at the play and make the correct call.

“In my opinion, stop, red flag, pits are closed, make a decision, sort it out then, line the cars back up,” Johnson said. “Nobody has any advantage from pitting, nobody takes tires, nobody takes fuel. It’s your best attempt to put the race back into motion and let us race for it instead of on a Monday or Tuesday trying to sort it out.”

NASCAR, historically, takes a dim view of radical change in its officiating policy, especially at the kickoff of the post-season. But this time, with the events at Richmond fresh in everyone’s mind, that might change.

“You just have to look at the lesser of the evils,” Johnson said. “Coming back on a Monday or Tuesday seems like a bigger problem to me than stopping the race; make the right call and resume the race. Do the best that you can to resume the race in the form or fashion that it was.

“I get it; it’s not perfect, but I’d much rather us write about and talk about the attempts to preserve the race and to have the right people in the Chase than all these what-ifs. We’ve been working hard to eliminate gray areas, and we have to keep going down that road. I know it’s not an easy thing to do, but I think it’s something that should be considered. 

“To go with that, we’re not having many cautions in these races lately, so it’s a 10-minute break to allow someone to go to the bathroom and someone to grab a beer…”

Johnson also said that teammate Jeff Gordon was a victim in the shenanigans that went on at Richmond, and had his plan been in place, he’d likely be the fourth Hendrick Motorsports car in the Chase this year.

“If he was in position to be in the Chase before the caution, then I would say yeah, that only seems fair,” Johnson opined. “I don’t know how it all plays out. We’re in the position where, truthfully, if you stop the race, make the call, live with the call, let the racing dictate who is in and who is out instead of judgment calls and this is fair, this is not fair, whatever the penalties are. There’s way too much in dispute here.”

Despite being the absolute gold standard in the NASCAR post-season, Johnson enters this year’s Chase on a bit of a downward trend. He has had two utterly forgettable races at Bristol and Richmond, and that’s not the way he’s used to hitting the final 10 races.

But, history being what it is, he is optimistic about his chances once the Chase gets under way.

“When you look at our team, August is always a tough month for us,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of years when we’ve made it through well. That’s one issue. When you look at the tracks that make up the Chase, a lot of them are really, really good for us. Five of them are 1.5-mile tracks, we’ve had tons of speed on those tracks. Seems like it’s the bigger the track the better, as we’ve had more speed there than on the short tracks. Martinsville and Dover are good for us, too. 

“I wish we had more momentum and better finishes going into the Chase, I’m not going to sugarcoat that, but it’s not the end of the world. We’ve been here before, and we’re rolling into a track that’s been awful good for us.”

What happens when he gets there is the key, Johnson said.

“If we run 15th, go down a lap at Chicago and don’t have any speed, then it’s time to hit the panic button,” he quipped. “But going into Chicago, I’m very confident that we’re going to be right in the middle of it.”

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Gore headlines roster of speakers at NASCAR Green Summit

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — An assortment of global influencers,
accomplished dignitaries and high-profile executives headlined the 2013
NASCAR Green Summit Delivered by UPS® today in Chicago. Commemorating
five years of innovative changes to the sport’s environmental footprint,
the event examined the substantive initiatives that have helped make
NASCAR the sports sustainability leader.
 
Among those who
addressed summit attendees were: Former Vice President of the United
States & Chairman of The Climate Reality Project Al Gore; Retired
U.S. Army General Wesley K. Clark; U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Mike
Richter; Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Lead Scientist Allen
Hershkowitz; Deputy Undersecretary for Science and Energy at the U.S.
Department of Energy Dr. Michael Knotek; and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Senior Policy Counsel in the Office of Chemical
Safety and Pollution Prevention Matt Bogoshian.
 
Founded on
NASCAR Chairman & CEO Brian France’s vision, NASCAR Green has grown
exponentially into one of the most powerful environmental awareness
platforms in the country. NASCAR owns the largest recycling, tree
planting and renewable energy programs in all of sports. It also put
nearly five million competition miles on Sunoco Green E15, a biofuel
blended with 15 percent American-made ethanol made from American-grown
corn.

Importantly, these efforts are aligned with NASCAR fan values and behaviors. According to a 2013 study commissioned by NASCAR and conducted by Toluna, NASCAR fans are approximately twice as likely as non-fans to indicate their household is very green – always looking for new ways to positively impact the environment.
 
“We take an enormous amount of pride in the collective effort that has been put forth across our entire industry to positively impact the environment over the last half decade,” said France. “It’s our mission to pass along a cleaner and healthier environment for generations to come by championing sustainable behavior to our millions of fans.”
 
The 2013 NASCAR Green Summit delivered by UPS recognized a number of Official NASCAR Partners that continue to push the bar in driving sustainable behavior. The program included executives from some of the world’s most influential brands, such as Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, Eaton, General Motors, Liberty Tire, Safety-Kleen, Sprint, Sunoco, Toyota and presenting partner UPS.  
 
Also today, NASCAR formally announced it will enter into strategic collaborations with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the NRDC.
 
· NASCAR and the DOE will collaborate on advancing the adoption of clean energy technologies. Specifically, NASCAR has deployed Eaton EV charging stations for employee use at its corporate office locations in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Concord, N.C., with plans to install another station in Charlotte, N.C., by the end of the year. Additionally, the DOE and NASCAR will collaborate to identify partnership opportunities, which may include universities, national laboratories, and private sector companies for the purpose of conducting clean energy and auto-related research. 
 
· NASCAR and the NRDC will collaborate on several initiatives in the areas of energy usage, waste management and food consumption. Specifically, NASCAR and NRDC will work to promote energy efficiency at NASCAR-sanctioned racing facilities as well as NASCAR corporate facilities. The two entities will also work together to educate NASCAR fans about the benefits of renewable energy and promote healthy food options in collaboration with concessionaires at NASCAR-sanctioned racing facilities.
 
“Dedication, innovative thought and a shared vision to better the environment has led to NASCAR entering into two separate Memorandums of Understanding with the DOE and NRDC,” said Dr. Michael Lynch, NASCAR Managing Director of Green Innovation. “These new alliances demonstrate NASCAR’s commitment to driving sustainable behavior amongst our fans.”
 
Additionally at today’s summit, NASCAR honored a number of sanctioned tracks for their dedication to making a positive impact on the environment. Auto Club Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Richmond International Raceway, Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International all received special awards. 

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In an unexpected turn of events post Richmond, Truex Jr. is the one who suffers the most 

Related: Full Chase coverage

It’s like the song says: You always hurt the ones you love.

That certainly turned out to be the case this week, when the driver most impacted by the scandal gripping Michael Waltrip Racing turned out to be the one who had the least to do with it. Martin Truex Jr. is out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, thanks to what NASCAR deemed a manipulation of Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway by MWR that led to penalties for all three teams affiliated with the organization.

And yet it’s Truex, intended to be the beneficiary here, who ends up paying the highest price. NASCAR’s sanctions in this case were applied to the standings from before the playoff field was reseeded, with all three MWR drivers being docked 50 points — not insignificant under a system where one point equals one position on the race track. But Brian Vickers, part-time in the premier series this season, didn’t qualify for the Chase. Clint Bowyer was safely in by a wide margin. So it ends up being Truex, driving for the only MWR program not implicated in all this, who is bumped out in favor of Ryan Newman.

It’s a cruel turn of events for a driver who overcame a broken wrist and a fired over-the-wall crewman to initially make the Chase field, and late Saturday night was handed a magnum of champagne and had his photo taken on a stage with the other 11 playoff participants. When Truex emerged from the car at Richmond, he was speechless. It had been such a tense night, he had no idea where he stood in relation to the other Chase hopefuls. When he found out he was in, he was shocked. And less than 48 hours later, he was out again.

“Feel bad for Truex,” were the first words on the issue posted to Twitter by Jeff Gordon, another driver directly affected by this situation, and it’s impossible to disagree. It was Vickers who was instructed over the radio to pit unexpectedly in the waning laps, in the closest thing NASCAR officials found to a smoking gun. It was Bowyer whose suspicious spin with seven laps remaining brought out the caution that changed everything, even if NASCAR couldn’t confirm that he did it on purpose. And in a particularly painful twist of the law of unintended consequences, it’s Truex who suffers most of all.

Waltrip claims there was no conspiracy plan afoot, and that everything unfolded due to circumstances. It may have, but the end result is still the same — a wide-ranging penalty that affects the MWR organization as a whole, and unfortunately sweeps Truex up in the dragnet. It’s harsh, no doubt about it. Still, you spare Truex, and there’s no clear way of delivering justice for Newman, who is the most aggrieved party in all this, and as a result of the point deduction becomes the second Wild Card to the Chase.

Nothing about this is easy. Even now, in the wake of perhaps the most severe penalty in modern NASCAR history — which also included a record $300,000 fine to MWR, probation to all three crew chiefs, and the indefinite suspension of Norris — some clamor that NASCAR should have done more. But there’s no way to make this situation perfect. No question Gordon has a gripe here, given the final caution and restart provided Joey Logano with the opportunity to overtake him for the 10th and final Chase spot determined on points. But to get Gordon in using the same mechanism that swapped Truex for Newman, NASCAR would have had to saddle Bowyer alone with an 80-point deduction that translates to roughly 333 under the previous system, and would stand as a historic penalty in and of itself.

Clearly, that would be a little harsh. Regardless of what role he may have played in Saturday night’s shenanigans, Bowyer has been among the most consistent drivers this season, clinching his Chase berth three weeks ago. This is a guy who would have been the Sprint Cup points leader coming to Richmond had his engine not blown a week earlier at Atlanta, and some people want him out of the playoff altogether? That’s about as unrealistic as NASCAR resolving this quandary by magically awarding extra Chase berths to everyone affected, a solution as viable as adding a 37th points race on the moon.

It’s a sticky one, all right. Perhaps MWR saw all this as the natural extension of usual teammate cooperation, like drafting, or giving one another a lap back, or allowing each other to lead to pick up a bonus point. Perhaps all this really was the result of a few decisions made independently by a few people, with ramifications that appear conspiratorial when viewed in full. Perhaps if Newman’s pit crew had been a fraction of a second quicker on that final pit stop, or if Gordon hadn’t gotten bogged down on that last restart, we wouldn’t even be here at all.

But we are, and it’s an ugly place to be. Already you have people hammering on Logano, saying he doesn’t deserve his position in the Chase, when he had nothing to do with this and simply took advantage of the circumstances placed in front of him. You have people pitting Logano against Gordon in some twisted zero-sum game, saying one should be in at the expense of the other, when both of them were just bystanders. You have Vickers, whose unexpected move to pit in the final laps proved the most damning piece of evidence in NASCAR’s eyes, playing a pivotal role in this drama when he seemed as confused over what was unfolding as almost everyone else.

And you have Truex. Poor Truex, who we last saw at Richmond smiling and embracing members of his No. 56 team and spraying champagne along with the rest of the Chase class of 2013. He was handed his new Chase cap, posed for photos with the other Chase participants, was booked for his part in Wednesday’s pre-Chase publicity tour. It was real. It was there. He felt the joy and the relief and the excitement and the anticipation. He was in.

Who could have known it was all a mirage, a scene that’s since faded away completely, as if it was never there to begin with. All of it thanks to people who believed they were helping him, and instead forced him to pay a higher price than anyone else.

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Driver says he was "unaware of other circumstances"

MORE: Full coverage of MWR penalties | Full Chase coverage

Martin Truex Jr. took to Twitter on Wednesday for his first comments since NASCAR handed down its penalties against Michael Waltrip Racing on Monday.

The penalties took Truex out of the Chase and put Ryan Newman in the 12-driver field.

In five tweets on Twitter, Truex said, "I just want to take a min to thank  my fans, NAPA AUTO PARTS, Toyota, NASCAR, my fellow competitors, & MWR for their support. I was very excited for my team when I learned that we clinched a wild card spot Sat night in Richmond. I drove the hardest race of my life that night & was unaware of any other circumstances other than needing to finish as high as I could to have a chance. This has been a very difficult situation for everyone involved, I hope we can all move on. Im looking forward to Chicago, seeing all my fans & getting back in my #56 NAPA Toyota, Thank you for all the messages. They are much appreciated."

NASCAR penalized Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, along with teammate Brian Vickers, 50 points Monday after it was determined that MWR officials attempted to “manipulate the outcome” of Saturday night’s race.

MWR was also docked 50 owner points for the respective teams and the three crew chiefs – Brian Pattie, Chad Johnston and Scott Miller – have been placed on probation through Dec. 31. Ty Norris, executive vice president and general manager, has been suspended indefinitely.

In addition, MWR was fined $300,000.

NAPA Auto Parts posted a message on its Facebook page on Wednesday, that the organization was looking into its sponsorship relationship with MWR.

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