Harvick's crew chief suspended

Shane Wilson, crew chief for Harvick, has been fined $15,000 USD and banned for the next six races after violating NASCAR's rulebook at Daytona last weekend.

Harvick, who has taken three victories this season, and his team owner Richard Childress have also been docked 50 points in their respective championships. This reduces their championship lead from 388 points to a still-comfortable 338.

Harvick finished third in the race at Daytona and the penalties relate to infractions discovered following a post-qualifying inspection.

Specifically, Harvick's machine was found to have equipment that did not conform to NASCAR rules with unapproved modifications in the boot area to enhance aerodynamic performance, crucial at the restrictor plate oval of Daytona.

The car was also found to violate rules with respect to the stock shape and contours and had edges bent to allow air to escape. The shock absorber access door was also found to be missing.

Wilson had been thrown out of the race meeting following the post-qualifying inspection, and will now not be available to Harvick until Michigan on August 19.

To add to Harvick's troubles, the crew chief of the Kevin Harvick Inc. car of Burney Lamar, Gene Nead, has also been banned for the next six events for having unapproved shock absorber components and base valves at Daytona.

Lamar has lost 50 Busch Series driver points, and likewise team owner DeLana Harvick has lost 50 owner points due to the infraction.

However, DeLana Harvick has vowed to appeal Lamar's penalty.

"As a team owner, I understand the importance of rules and I respect the need to have them in our sport," DeLana Harvick said.

"I want to make it very clear that we did not deliberately disregard any rules. In this particular situation, we disagree with the penalty and will appeal."

Due to the frequency and nature of the infractions, NASCAR has imposed the unusually high sentences.

By contrast, Chad Knaus was only banned for four weeks and his driver Jimmie Johnson docked 25 points for an aerodynamic infraction at the same circuit back in February.

Four other Busch Series crew chiefs were fined due to violations at Daytona.

Mark Durgin, crew chief for PJ Jones and Dave Fuge Jr, crew chief of Paul Tracy, were each fined $5,000 USD for unapproved modifications after qualifying.

Rick Gay, crew chief for John Andretti, was fined $2,500 USD for an air vent infraction and Marc Reno, crew chief for Mike Wallace, was also fined $2,000 for a fuel cell vent tube exceeded the maximum use.

These penalties were found before the race last Friday night.