For once, NASCAR seems to have stepped up to the plate in regards to issuing penalties for cheating in the sport.As you know, Wednesday brought the news from NASCAR of the stiff backhand that the sanctioning body inflicted on the team members of Joe Gibbs Racing's two Nationwide Series teams who were caught cheating last Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
The penalties included indefinite suspensions for both crew chiefs of the No. 18 and No. 20 cars (Jason Ratcliff and Dave Rogers) as well as five other team members involved in the illicit tampering of the post-race competition testing analysis NASCAR performed Saturday. The term "indefinite" -- to the best of my knowledge -- has never been used by NASCAR for a performance-related suspension.
Point deductions to the tune of 150 driver and owner points for the cars driven by Tony Stewart and Joey Logano were also inflicted, as well as monetary fines to the crew chiefs.
The biggest impact, I think, comes from what the Joe Gibbs Racing team has done about the matter. They've already confirmed that the team members in question will be suspended for at least the remainder of the season and that they will each face internal fines from the company that will be paid directly from their pocket.
