"During the last lap of yesterday's race at Talladega Superspeedwaythe driver of the No. 01 (Smith) violated NASCARpolicy by driving under the yellow line to improve his position," NASCAR President Mike Helton said. "In NASCAR's opinion he was not forced below the yellow line. NASCAR correctly took immediate action to enforce the policy by penalizing the No. 01 and scoring the No. 20 (Stewart) as the race winner."
Smith, who was sent back to 18th for the rule violation, sees it much differently.
“We just watched the tape. They can argue about it for five years, they’re not going to change the decision. That’s not how NASCARworks,” Smithsaid. “I totally disagree with them 110 percent. I clearly moved to the outside, moved back to the inside. Tony made a move to the high side and made a move to the bottom side."
NASCAR's ruling stood, and Stewart was awarded his first Cup win at Talladega, and his last win with Joe Gibbs Racing.
6. Your Cheatin' Heart
Carl Edwards was on a hot streak in the beginning of the 2008 Cup season, and even held the points lead... for about five seconds. NASCAR inspectors after the UAW Dodge 400 in Las Vegas sent the Office Depot Ford back to Charlotte after the oil tank lid off.
The penalty would cost Edwards 100 driver and owner points, along with losing crew chief Bob Osbourne for six weeks.
Toyota claimed they had tested a car without the oil tank lid in a wind tunnel, and said it gave the car a distinct advantage. This set off a war of words between Roush, who raised questions on why Toyota was testing cars like that, and the Japanese auto maker.
Joe Gibbs Racing was also caught doing something naughty this year. Just weeks after NASCAR a modified "restrictor place" on all Toyota engines in the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series, JGR cars of Tony Stewart and Joey Loganowere caught with magnets under the gas pedals, which would cause the speed of the cars to look a lot slower on their upcoming dyno tests.
Very, very bad. NASCAR was furious with the finding, and suspended several crew members indefinitely, including crew chiefs Jason Ratcliff and Dave Rodgers, and fined Stewart and Logano and docked them 150 points. Their probation was eventually lifted.
"We want to apologize to NASCAR, all of our partners, all of our families at JGR, and all of our fans for the unfortunate incident that took place this past weekend in Michigan withour two Nationwide teams," team owner Joe Gibbs said in a statement after the penalties came out. "A poor decision was made by some key members of our organization, and 100 percent of the blame rests with us."
The last major penalty came via Red Bull Racing and Brian Vickers, whose team allegedly dipped their sheet metal in acid to make it thinner. Whether this was truly how they did it or not, the team was docked 150 driver and owner points, and crew chief Kevin Hamlin was fined $100,000 for the infraction.
Those were just some of the major storylines of 2008. And if this was the craziness we saw this past season...what will 2009 bring?
Thanks to Jayski, The Seattle Times, NASCAR.com, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Pantagraph, The Guardian (UK), USA Today, RUWT Sports, and the Orlando Sentinel for the quotes and information used in this piece.
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