Roush to appeal Edwards penalty

The team believes the severity of the penalty imposed on Edwards, of docking him 25 points in the driver standing, does not fit the crime, as the fact that their car was lower than the minimum stipulated on the right rear did not give them any performance advantage because of the type of track Dover is.

"We have the misfortune of violating a rule which makes no sense," said Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith. "It was promulgated to address restrictor plate races, not downforce races. I say misfortune because we are being penalized for a violation that actually impaired the car's performance."

Smith also said that the proportional effect of the penalty on his driver's points status is greater than what it should be, given that Edwards is one of the twelve drivers competing for the Nextel Cup title in the last ten races of the season.

"We intend to appeal the unfair assessment of the points penalty," Smith added. "What is unfair is that Carl is receiving a penalty that is 250 percent greater in its effect than a similarly assessed penalty against a non-Chase driver.

"Chase drivers are competing for a total of 1,950 points. All drivers competed for 5,070 points in the first 26 races. Do the math. The net effect is that a 25 point penalty falls unfairly hard on a Chase contender.

"That's simply not right. To equalize the penalty impact on all competitors not more than 10 points should have been taken from a Chase contender."

As a result of the points penalty imposed by NASCAR, Edwards has dropped from being third in the points, only three points away from the Chase lead, to being sixth and 28 points behind leader Jeff Gordon, two races into the final series playoff.