Jeff Gordon, the four-time series champion, and Jimmie Johnson, the defending Nextel Cup champion, were each docked 100 points. Crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte were both fined $100,000 and suspended for six races because their cars failed an initial inspection at Infineon Raceway.The penalties are a blow to Hendrick Motorsports, which has 10 wins this season - four each from Gordon and Johnson. Team owner Rick Hendrick said he was disappointed and called the punishment “excessive.”

This is the first major violation for Letarte, who started sweeping floors at Hendrick and rose through the ranks to become Gordon’s crew chief with 10 races to go in 2004.

But Knaus (Johnson’s crew chief) is a repeat offender, and this is his fourth suspension since 2001. He sat out four races last season when NASCAR found illegal modifications following Johnson’s qualifying run for the Daytona 500.

I wonder why this guy still has a job. Obviously he has not learned from previous penalties. A six race supension might make him think a little bit, but as far as this writer is concerned, he has lost all face and has disgraced his team and the sport.

Well, well, well. Here we go again with the next installment of Hendrick Motor Sports drivers and crew chiefs trying to gain an unfair advantage by ILLEGALLY modifying the front fenders on their COT cars. Which of course, they claim they misunderstood the rule book.

Guess what I say to that? These guys are paid extremely well to understand what the rules are. There is no excuse that they can give to justify what they did. They knew all along what they were doing and you would have to be a complete dolt not to see that.

Don’t get me wrong, Yeah, I like Jeff Gordon (not so much Johnson) but, I think you are caught illegally modifying your car, then you should be suspended for at least 3 races. The penalties that NASCAR hands out, even with the deduction of driver and owner points, will not affect the Hendrick stable that badly. Well, now it is time to make it hurt. Set an example, make the crew chiefs know that if they are caught “cheating” then they might end up sweeping the floors again. Do not be leniant with the penalties.

Check out the story here.

Juan Pablo Montoya won his first ever NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Infineon Raceway this weekend. Here’s the thing though, It came down to fuel mileage. I personally do not like races that are won by fuel mileage. I like races that are won by how well the driver, pit crew and crew chief perform. Just like drivers that win due to the race being called on account of rain, this is not what I would call a true victory. I’m not sure what NASCAR could do to change this, but I would love to see all races end without the worry of rain and/or fuel mileage.

NASCAR drivers take safety precautions seriously. They step into flame-retardant jumpsuits. They wear crash-proof helmets. They’re strapped into a five-point harness, as well as head and neck restraint systems. And most of them won’t, under any circumstances, eat peanuts before the race.

Peanuts?

Nutty but true
It’s true. Peanuts are a long-standing taboo for NASCAR drivers. The origin of the superstition is up for debate. One story has some of Junior Johnson’s teammates chomping peanuts in the shop right before an engine blew. The logical conclusion? Blame the peanuts. Another theory is that peanut shells were sprinkled on five cars before a race in the 1930s, and all five cars crashed.

Unlucky 13
If you were driving 3,400 pounds of metal at 200 miles per hour, just inches away from other drivers trying to nudge you out of the way, you’d want some good luck, too. You’d probably avoid black cats and walk around ladders, and you most likely wouldn’t want anything to do with the number 13.

You wouldn’t be alone. Many drivers consider 13 unlucky when it comes to car numbers, pole positions, and the day of the month. Nobody was more scared of number 13 than 1962 and 1963 cup champion Joe Weatherly. When he qualified for position 13 at Bristol in 1962, he insisted that it be changed to 12a. And he refused to enter the 13th Southern 500 in Darlington until the name was changed to the “12th Renewal of the Southern 500.”

NASCAR Points Standings as of Race #15 of 36: Citizens Bank 400 Race Results

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing grew from NASCAR’s early “strictly stock” series. You used to be able to drive your car to the race track and race it. These days the cars are purpose-built speed machines. NASCAR has many rules to keep the cars equal. Here are some of the basic things that define a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race car.

A. NASCAR Race Car RulesNASCAR NEXTEL Cup race cars are based on American-built sedans. While Formula One, CART and the IRL race open wheeled speedsters NASCAR cars have fenders and vaguely resemble the cars that people have in their own driveways.

NEXTEL Cup race cars are required to have three “stock” parts from the manufacturer. The hood, the roof and the trunk lid are all standard parts. The rest of the vehicles are pure racing fabrications.

• Weight: 3,400 pounds
• Wheelbase: 110 inches
• Fuel Capacity: 17.5 gallons (most tracks)
• Fuel Type: 110 octane unleaded fuel
• Top Speed: 235 (Rusty Wallace ran 228 in a test at Talladega in 2004 and believes 235 was possible)

NASCAR Engines

A NASCAR NEXTEL Cup motor is the heart of the race car. They use somewhat older technology in that they have carburetors instead of modern fuel injection. This helps keep costs down since all of the components are mechanical instead of allowing complicated electronics.

The basic facts:

• 8 cylinders
• 358 cubic inches
• 750 horsepower (approximate)

Random Facts About NASCAR Race Cars

• The headlights on a NASCAR race car are just realistic decals
• NASCAR race cars have to meet a series of templates that NASCAR uses to limit the shape of the cars. This keeps all cars looking basically the same
• NASCAR tires have no tread, so they can not race in the rain
• Because NASCAR race cars are heavier they require a harder tire compound than any other racing series

Well, Hell has finally frozen over and the fat lady has sung. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is Joining Hendrick Mototr Sports next season. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are to of the biggest rivals in NASCAR. I wonder how this will pan out in the Hendrick stables?

Do you think tha Jeff Gordon will have less Budwieser beer cans thrown at him if he wins a race with Earnhardt as his teammate? I would like to think so. I personally cannot stand Earnhardt Jr.. Whenever he races, I hope for a mechanical failure.

Well, we shall see how this works out. I think that this will be just like Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman. Those two were teammates, but they still tried to get under each others skin, on and off the track.

Check out the full article here.

What’s so special about NASCAR that companies are standing in line, waiting for their opportunity to plunk down money? It’s easy to understand what drives them. For starters, NASCAR is one of the most popular sports in the United States, with a huge fan base. And NASCAR fans are at the front of the pack when it comes to brand loyalty.In a recent survey of NASCAR fans by Performance Research, over half indicated that they had a higher trust in products offered by NASCAR sponsors. And nearly three-fourths of the NASCAR audience reported that they “almost always” or “frequently” choose a product involved in NASCAR over one that is not, simply because of the sponsorship.

According to Jed Pearsall, president of Performance Research, “NASCAR fans provide one of the highest levels of brand loyalty and sponsorship support of any one of the hundred or so sports and special events we’ve tested.”

Not only are NASCAR fans loyal to the companies that support their teams; they also aren’t shy about backing those loyalties with cash. They’ll snap up a $30 hat or a $300 jacket plastered with the corporate logo of their favorite drivers’ sponsors.

What company wouldn’t want this generous and outgoing group of fans on its side?

There’s an old saying in racing circles: Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?

In the world of NASCAR, there are plenty of companies that want to put the pedal to the metal — aiming to finish first in the minds of NASCAR fans. And the opportunities to do so are plentiful.

It’s hard to name a single thing in NASCAR that doesn’t have an official sponsor. Racetracks have sponsors. Races have sponsors. NASCAR awards for each race have sponsors. And of course, every race team has a sponsor — in many cases more than one.

While team owners won’t tell you the specific dollar figures involved, it’s been reported that some companies pay millions of dollars just for the honor of putting their names on the hood of a NASCAR series team car.