Wallace penalised for illegal carburettor
Rusty Wallace had been dropped from eighth to 38th on the grid for Sunday's Daytona 500 after NASCAR officials found an illegal carburettor on his car after the Gatorade 125-mil qualifying races
The driver was disqualified from the 125, and was credited with finishing 25th and last. He will still start Sunday's race, but using the second 'provisional' slot on the grid.His crew chief Bill Wilburn was fined $10,000.
"I'm OK with the penalty - I just hate it happened," said Wallace. "A rule's a rule. We're just embarrassed about the whole thing.
"NASCAR knows there was no intent on our part. "We were 12 horsepower off the best car because of the carburettor. We just had one of the wrong carburettors off the truck - we didn't check it and now we're paying for it."
The decision doesn't just come as a blow to Wallace and his Penske Racing outfit. Sponsor Miller Lite has promised a free six-pack of beer to everyone in the grandstand should Wallace win the event.
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