NASCAR sanctioning body cracks down on rules violations.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —Michael Waltrip’s team was fined $100,000 and docked 100 owner and driver points during Speedweeks after the team was found with a suspicious substance in the intake manifold after qualifying. The officials were looking in the manifold and found a strange looking substance in it. The car was immediately confiscated for further inspection.

NASCAR has held back the information exactly as to what the substance was but insiders say it was a jet fuel additive a type of oxygenate. Some have said it was not big enough of a fine due to the fact they were fooling with the fuel. No information was available as to what type of additive it was. Sources said it was on the inside of the intake manifold to avoid detection. Fuel tests are taken from the fuel cells or the bowls of the carburetor. The manifold is the last part of an engine before the fuel ignites and a place no one usually looks. Now they will be checking for additives, impregnated gaskets and other porous parts that may have additives on them. The cars only qualify for a few laps and the residue would normally be washed away by the fuel before it gets to inspection. This didn't happen in this case and it was found when they smelled something strange and seen the substance. Since other teams may be doing this they should use a video camera snake to look down the carburetor throats before qualifying for future races. They could also use a sniffer or their own nose to check for any unusual smells.

Robin Pemberton a NASCAR official characterized it as a desperate team resorting to desperate measures. “Anything around fuel to enhance horsepower is something we will not tolerate,” Pemberton said. “A team not guaranteed to get in the race crossed the line to ensure themselves a spot in the Daytona 500. That’s all there is to it.” The entire car now has been confiscated and will be shipped to NASCAR’s research and development center in Concord, N.C., for further investigation.

Waltrip's crew chief David Hyder and competition director Bobby Kennedy were ejected from Daytona International Speedway and suspended indefinitely.

The teams of Jack Roush and Ray Evernham were also caught breaking rules and fined as the sponsor upped the ante to win. These teams are becoming so big they are dominating the sport and expected to be in the front every week leaving the little guys in the back row. We commend NASCAR for finally taking action to what many people already knew was happening. The sport is out of control and they need to attach a leash to the big dogs.

Waltrip’s has teamed up with Toyota and built a 3 car team this year. Lee White, senior vice president of Toyota Racing Development, said the Japanese company takes a dim view of anything that puts it in a bad light. “Are we a little disappointed one of our teams is involved? Yes, we can’t deny that,” White said. “We’ll have some further discussions with that team and decide what our relationship is going to be in the future.”

Roush and Evernham maintained Wednesday that their punishment exceeded the violations and questioned why they were treated more harshly than was Chad Knaus, crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, last year for a more blatant transgression.

Driver Matt Kenseth, while admitting embarrassment that his Roush Racing team now will be seen by many as a cheater. The penalized owners were unhappy with NASCAR’s taking away 50 points from two teams and 25 from two others before the season has even begun.

Evernham said he won’t appeal the four-race suspension and $50,000 fine of Kenny Francis, crew chief on Kasey Kahne’s car, because he has no way to prove tape covering a vent hole in the rear wheel well came off accidentally instead of on purpose.

Evernham might appeal the two-race suspensions and $25,000 fines handed the crew chiefs for Elliott Sadler (Josh Browne) and Scott Riggs (Rodney Childers). They were flagged in pre-qualifying inspection for having holes drilled in a number of bolts to make them lighter, something Evernham said his team has routinely done in the past because it isn’t specifically prohibited in the rulebook.

“I don’t know how to find out if something is legal or not until you present it for inspection,” he said. “How do you know what’s good and what’s bad? You get sent home for basically asking.”