FanHouse NASCAR Penalties

If NASCAR was hoping the National Stock Car Racing Commission would bail them out of one of their biggest PR blunders in long while, it failed to do so.

The appeals board upheld the 12-race suspension and $200,000 fine against part-time and even smaller-time driver Carl Long after the driver-owner -- one who makes roughly $100,000 per year -- was found to have an engine that was roughly one-sixth of an inch too big of the 358 cubic inch limit during last month's All-Star Race.

In doing so, NASCAR either ended or completely changed the course of Carl Long's real job as an employee for another team and left the impression of being the big bad brother who forgot where he can from.

NASCAR dusted off the ol' penalty paddle Wednesday, and did so in historic form.

Carl Long, a part-time driver that has likely sold fewer team T-shirts in his career than Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car number old or new, was slapped with a $200,000 fine after NASCAR found his engine to be too big during last weekend's All-Star festivities.

The dollar figure was the largest ever docked by the sanctioning body, and very easily could end Long's racing career.

It wasn't a bright and shiny day after all for Hendrick Motorsports Saturday at Kansas.

Kyle Busch won Saturday's Busch race at Kansas Speedway over Matt Kenseth by about a car length in his No. 5 Chevrolet. While the victory was nice, it could turn out to haunt Busch for the rest of 2007 season in both the Busch and Nextel Cup series.

Busch's car failed post-race inspection in a major sort of way Saturday evening. And by major sort of way, I mean like Michael Waltrip-type way, not the Carl Edwards-type way.

The intake manifold on the No. 5's engine -- a piece long thought as one of the steepest of infractions when out of bounds -- was deemed illegal in the eyes of NASCAR. The sanctioning body has since taken the part into their possession.

This certainly isn't good news for anyone involved with Busch's Busch or Nextel Cup series efforts. Without a doubt, the penalty will be steep (as Busch Series penalties go) for Busch and Co. The significant "and Co." part of that equation includes the man who crew chiefs for Busch in both divisions, Alan Gustafson.