NASCAR fines Roush Fenway Racing's No. 16 Nationwide team for engine violation
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
NASCAR has fined Roush Fenway Racing Nationwide Series crew chief Eddie Pardue $30,000 and docked driver Matt Kenseth 100 Nationwide Series points as well as team owner Jack Roush 100 points for violations of the sealed engine rule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
NASCAR officials termed the violations a clerical mistake.
Engines of all race-winning teams are inspected after the race. If the team is sealing the engine for use in another event, the engine is inspected after the last event the engine is used. In a rule implemented this year to cut costs, teams cannot go more than three consecutive races without using a sealed engine.
Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash said the engine at issue was from the race-winning car in May at Darlington. The engine was sealed after the victory and then used again at Nashville in June and was sealed again for use at one more race. The team (or Roush Yates Engines) then took apart the engine because of a clerical error, cut the seals and took the engine apart, and once it was realized that a mistake was made, Roush Fenway contacted NASCAR officials, Balash said.
The race-winning engine was never torn down by NASCAR officials, Balash said, resulting in the penalty.
“It’s very serious,” said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton, who learned of the accidental tear-down of the engine at the shop a few weeks ago. “It’s the integrity of our sealed-engine program, which has been put in place to try to aid the teams in cost control and budgets of things of that nature.
“I don’t think a 100-point penalty is light by any means, and I don’t think a $30,000 penalty is light in anyone’s eyes as it relates to the Nationwide Series. It’s serious, and we’re trying to uphold the integrity of the engine-sealing program. Quite frankly, I think it was a mistake, but mistakes happen, and sometimes these are the things that come out of it. I think it is a fairly substantial penalty.”
Pemberton said that he didn’t feel a suspension was necessary even though it was an engine issue.
“We don’t feel a suspension was warranted in this case,” Pemberton said. “The team was pretty straight-forward with us on the whole process, and we were satisfied with talking to the team and looking into the specific engine. We were satisfied with it.”
There are four race-winning engines from this year that have yet to be torn down because teams plan on using the engines again. Roush Fenway has won nine times this year, and no issues have been found with any Roush Fenway engines torn down, Balash said.
NASCAR has begun using different color seals for race-winning engines to help teams know what engines will eventually need to be torn down as it has sealed more than 1,400 engines this year in the Nationwide and Truck series.
“The engines are sealed for reuse as part of a program to help the teams with their costs,” Balash said. “They’re not being sealed for engine performance.”
Kenseth has only driven in 11 races this year, but the No. 16 has run the entire season and was ninth in owners points. It will drop to 10th in the standings, 98 points behind the No. 30 Braun Racing team in the owner standings. A Roush Fenway Racing spokesman said the team would not appeal.
This wasn’t the first time that a record-keeping error involving the engines has cost a team, Balash said. Twice this year, teams had to make an engine change because they brought an unsealed engine on a weekend where they had to run a sealed engine. Those teams made the engine change and then started at the rear of the field for the race.
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30 responses to "NASCAR fines Roush Fenway Racing's No. 16 Nationwide team for engine violation". Post a Comment.
RonSchwalbe said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 3:49 PM{“It’s very serious,” said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton, who learned of the accidental tear-down of the engine at the shop a few weeks ago. “It’s the integrity of our sealed-engine program, which has been put in place to try to aid the teams in cost control and budgets of things of that nature."} -------"That said - NOW, give us THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS !!!!! See how we're "SAVING" you money " ????
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMedukie said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 3:57 PMJust look at all the money they 'Saved' Carl Long on the Cup side!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportoldmanjob said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:00 PMI think NASCRAP is a graduate of the OBAMA school of Socialistic finance.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsoapy7145 said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:19 PMI agree with all three responses 100%.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:26 PMCheaters !!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnascarnutsheeler said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:37 PMJust wondering what the fine and points would have been had it been Hendricks if it was a clerical error.Oh its OK just go racing.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportWerner said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 5:03 PMJack turns himself in and gets fined...well if that don't beat all...lol
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» Confirm Abuse Reportandee said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 5:22 PMWhat kind of penalty would Mr.Pemberton come up with if he found a team on a non nascar track running tires that were to be used in an upcoming race?
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» Confirm Abuse Reportiusewd40 said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 5:49 PMOLDMANsonJOB---#3 That's All we need in this sport is More Right-Wing Whaco Stuff. Get a LIFE
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» Confirm Abuse Reportzebsdad said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 6:07 PMLet it be a Hendrick engine and guess what? Yep, just a slap on the hand. Let it be a FORD and whammo, you just got screwed. At least Jack was honest about it. Sure saves money doesn't it? I agree, must be OBAMA finances.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 6:12 PMRemember when ol' Jack accused Ray Evernham of cheating when Ray put two tires on JG's car and Jeff beat Mark ? That started the whole "tire gate" deal when he jumped up on the wall and demanded NASCAR confiscate the #24's tires. OMG Jack Roush is now a cheater !!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportprrfan said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 6:46 PMDon't like Jack but this is just wrong. I agree with #6 100%
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» Confirm Abuse Reportbthompson133 said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 6:53 PMso if you tell them ahead of time they still screw you? rules are rules, but how about writing them down along with the penalties. nascar has said before that you will be penalized on intent. guess they intend on doing away with jack
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» Confirm Abuse Reportmonte-carlo said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 8:08 PMGOOD HE DESERVES IT ! ! Should of fined the cheater more. HA HA he can't even win cheating!
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» Confirm Abuse Reportwildrose7445 said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 8:12 PMSeems to me if it was a race winning engine from Darlington, then it is on NASCAR for not doing the tear-down then, instead letting the team seal it for another race. Of course I don't see NASCAR fining themselves for such an oversight.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportriccary said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 8:50 PMWhoops, the name was NOT Hendrick. If it was a Hendrick car it would of been OK, just don't do it again unless you deposit into my bank account triple what you did last month.
Report as AbuseNASCRAP is more of a joke than the WWE.It will never change until the stands are empty. Money talks.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAndi said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 9:12 PMIf it was a Hendrick/Junior Motorsports Car the fine would have been same. Get off the conspiracy that Nascar will let anything slide if it was an Hendrick car. HMS has been fined and docked points themselves in the past, so get over it already.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportspeedracer578 said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 9:28 PMThe fine wouldn't have been the same if it were Hendrick. NASCAR has proved this time and time again and did it at Dover this fall. Yes, they have penalized Hendrick before, but they were penalties that were minor in the grand scheme of things. 100 points and $30,000 for a Nationwide team for this type of infraction is ridiculous. NASCAR is like the FIA now. We'll find ways to help you "save" money, but in the end it either doesn't save anything or you end up paying more. This is what the FIA has done for years and they are also very egregious when it comes to playing favorites and NASCAR has been as guilty in recent years. I think it's NASCAR's fault for not tearing down the winning engine at Darlington. Stupid, just stupid. And if you don't like people criticizing Obama's politics, you probably don't belong in NASCAR.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAndi said:
Oct 21, 2009 at 11:37 PMOh yeah sure it was minor. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the crew chiefs were suspended along with points docked, and fined money. Those fines and penalties. Lately I haven't seen that with anybody else that has gotten penalized. Just been fines and points docked. And for the last time both HMS cars were LEGAL.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportxbrownsx said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 1:00 AMThis is why many drivers do the completely unecessary burnouts after winning a race. They are trying to destroy any evidence of illegal or cheating devices inside the engine.
Report as AbuseNASCAR should immediately ban the practice of post race burnouts, and this way they can better take a look at or tear down a race winning engine.
Once a driver doing a post race burnout blows their engine, and it erupts into flames and the driver has a hard time trying to exit the burning racecar, THEN and only THEN will NASCAR ban this dangerous practice.
All 43 cars can do smoky post race burnouts - how come we didn't see the great drivers, Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, Jarrett, Baker ect. do this when they won a race?
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnascarnutsheeler said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 2:03 AM#19, right on the money
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» Confirm Abuse Reportmrclause said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 7:02 AMAnd this equals Carl Longs gigantic fine how? Robin Pemberton said, The team was pretty straight forward? This guy is on such a power trip as VP! The team was dead up honest. How else would NASCRAP have known about it? IT"S AN ENGINE RULE AND THAT'S A SUSPENSION! NO LESS SERIOUS THAN CARL LONG'S INFRACTION. At the very least they should now forgive Long's fine down to the equal of this one to Roush.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnovara48 said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 8:37 AM#19, Because they, like Mark Martin, have respect for the guys that spent long hours building those engines. It takes a lot of time, energy and ingenuity to build an engine, and to build a race engine that has to endure a 500 mile grind of a race takes twice if not 3 times the time, energy and ingenuity. These guys know that and have respect for that.
Report as AbuseTo all of you whinning about the $30,000 fine being ridiculous and too much for a NNS team, realize this, IT'S RFR!!! If it was a small single or 2 car team barely skimping by, then yes that's a big penalty, but it's not, it's RFR! This is a drop in the bucket for Jack, and you can guarantee this was not a "clerical error" as Nascar put it. This was done for a purpose and once they cut the seal and got rid of the daming evidence, then and only then did Jack call Nascar. Also, to all you whinning about the penalty not being the same if it were HMS, get over yourselves, the penalty would have been the same. Everybody thinks HMS, Jr doing poorly, and JJ dominating are the reasons that fans are leaving Nascar. Well, if that's the case, why in the world would Nascar want to help them or give them special treatment? If that's the case, wouldn't they want to stack the deck against them?
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» Confirm Abuse Reportgrumpyjim52 said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:09 AMHow close do they check Toyota engines? Just wondering.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnascarnutsheeler said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:24 AMAbout the same as Henricks heros.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportnascarnutsheeler said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:28 AMMONTE-CARLO, just remember the wheel goes around guy.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportkeith308 said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 1:10 PMWhere are the Hendrick bashers on this one!
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 2:09 PMDidn’t the "seasoned officials" who initially investigated “the bubble boy” story say that they believed the parents were telling the truth and that it wasn’t a hoax. Look at how fast that one turned around…
Report as AbuseRoush cheat ?? In a heartbeat !! That team should be parked… They shouldn’t be racing in that series anyway with cup drivers.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportAnonymous said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 2:23 PMDidn't mean "BUBBLE BOY... I meant, "BALLOON BOY".
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjondoble said:
Oct 22, 2009 at 2:23 PMWhy Kenseth (who ran the #16 and the motor at Darlington) but not Stenhouse (who ran the #16 and the motor at Nashville)?
Report as AbuseI understand the rules and why the penalty, just why not Stenhouse. If you hit one driver with points, why not the other?
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