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Carl Edwards ended up first in
the Sunday’s UAW-Dodge 400 event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but lost 100
points overall after his car failed the inspection on the day of the race.
He was allowed to keep his
victory, a second consecutive for Edwards in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, but
lost his top position to Kyle Busch and ended up seventh in the overall
standings.
But the penalty wasn’t
restricted to the driver alone, but also to crew chief Bob Osborne, who was
fined $100,000, got suspended for the next six races and was put on probation
until December 31.
Team co-owner Jack Roush was also penalized
100 owner points. But wait, there’s more! If Edwards qualifies for NASCAR’s Chase,
he won’t be granted the 10 points for winning the Sunday race.
What led to all this aggravation?
The Sunday inspection unveiled that Edwards’ car, the No. 99 Ford he drives for
Roush Fenway Racing, had no cover for the oil tank, which is said to have
possibly given him an advantage, aerodynamically speaking.
Geoff Smith, president of Roush
Fenway Racing, said according to The New York Times: “It’s a tough business for
any race team to have to pledge $100,000, 100 points and a six-race crew chief
suspension as an indemnity payment to NASCAR against a promise forces from us
by NASCAR that no bolt will ever fail its purpose under race conditions.”
This is not the first time
Edward’s car has failed an inspection, and furthermore, the situation repeats
itself after a winning race. In September last year, his car failed to past the
inspection as it was considered to be too low.
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