Teams fined for Daytona rules violations

Waltrip's Dale Earnhardt Inc team was fined $25,000 and lost 25 points in both the driver and owner standings. Inspectors confiscated the carburettor on Waltrip's car, citing suspicious venturi openings. The team also was fined $500 for use of an unapproved roof strip, one of two lengthwise metal rails designed to break up air and prevent lift.

The infractions were discovered before qualifying. After the car was made right, Waltrip qualified sixth. He led nine laps in the race and finished 11th. Waltrip remains fifth in the points standings.

The No. 4 Morgan-McClure team was found to have an enlarged fuel cell and was fined $25,000. Driver Stacy Compton, making his first start for the team after previous driver Mike Skinner was sacked, lost 25 points, as did team owner Larry McClure. Officials speculated that the team had attempted to stretch the cell's bladder, perhaps with air pressure, and the entire assembly was confiscated. The violation was discovered in pre-race inspection, resulting in Compton not reaching the grid until pace laps had begun.

Also, the No. 45 team of Kyle Petty was fined $25,000 and lost 25 points because of illegal jacking bolts in the rear. The penalty was yet another indignity for the struggling Petty team after a torrid weekend. Two of the squad's three cars failed to qualify for the race, with Petty only making the field through the use of a provisional.