Earnhardt, Jr crew chief and six other teams’ crew chiefs suspended 6 races
Quote selected text Published February 20th, 2008 in NASCAR News
Chad Walter, the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide Series team, was suspended for six races on Wednesday after it was determined the spoiler was altered to create a competitive advantage in Saturday’s opener in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Also, Earnhardt was penalized 50 championship points and car owner Rick Hendrick 50 owner points.
JR Motorsports plans to file an appeal, which will allow Walter to remain the crew chief for this weekend’s race at California Speedway.
“We have two strong teams at JR Motorsports and look forward to a good weekend at Fontana,” said Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who oversees operations for the organization.
Six other Nationwide teams also were penalized for violations discovered during post-qualifying inspection. Five crew chiefs — Gene Allnut (Kertus Davis), Jon Wolfe (Johnny Sauter), Bob Edwards (David Gilliland), Steve Dame (David Stremme) and Charlie Wilson (Cale Gale) — were suspended for six races.
- NASCAR to address suspended crew chiefs that still ‘work’
- Eury, Jr steps down as Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s crew chief to start Hendrick job
- 4 more Nationwide teams to appeal Daytona penalties
- Crew Chiefs for Kenseth, Kahne, Sadler, Riggs suspended, fined by NASCAR
- Penalties reduced for two Nationwide crew chiefs
Good, NASCAR did something good!! I love JR, but dont play favors. Sure hope FISHA is happy now!!!
Not To Worried Its Only The Nationwide
Junior has been penalized on the Cup side, too… heavily.
Ya know… I’ve come to the conclusion that the only thing that would make the Junior haters happy, is if he was dead. There’s not a doubt in my mind about it.
Junior has been penalized everytime his team was caught doing something. Yet everytime something else comes up, morons like to make a big deal about it and act as if he’s never been penalized before and never will be because NASCAR plays favorites with him. IDIOTS… I swear….
Christina wrote:
No not really, because Robby Gordon and RGM got screwed over because of a nose that GEM put on the RGM car.
Also I find it funny that there is an article talking about the Jr stuff, and then 2 sentences talking about the 5 other guys, and not even mentioning what they got in trouble for and what they plan on doing about it.
maybe because JR is just more interesting, ever think of that? i hate when people have bad things to say when he gets media attention. i dont think he cares if he has one sentence or a thousand speaking about him. unlike “fat” Tony and others he doesn’t feed off the spotlight.
Shows how immature Jr. fans really are. Thanks for showing a bad example.
I’m not a Jr hater… I’m a Jr fan hater. There’s a BIG difference. I don’t think they make a big deal about it, it’s just the fact that Jr fans act like the guy walks on water and does nothing wrong. I always read last year how everything was Theresa’s fault for his failing & cheating. What’s the excuse for him now? All I can say now is “Welcome to Hendrick Jr, get used to it, just don’t take after Johnson & cheat your way to 2 championships”.
good cheat and still don’t win jr. sucks
DID ANYONE EVER THINK THAT DALE JR WAS NOT IN A GOOD MOOD FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND EVEN AT THE 500 BECAUSE EVERYTIME HE WENT PAST TURN 4 HE HAD HIS DAD ON HIS MIND I FEEL SO BAD FOR JUNE BUG AND THE WHOLE TEAM AND EVERYONE WHO REMEMBERS DALE SR. EVERYONE MAKES A MISTAKE SO BE IT. I LOVE JR TO DEATH AND WILL ALWAYS LOVE HIM. BUT FAN REALLY DONT EVEN GIVE THE DRIVERS ROOM TO BREATH. WE JUST STARTED THE 08 SEASON AND 88 WILL ROCK 08 LOVE YA JUNE BUG
Well, if there was a good point to this article, it would have been that EVERYONE was being treated equally. But yet , I’m still looking for what the other 6 teams did wrong. If the media is going to stick their nose in the middle of everything, the least they could do is report ALL! (Good job butchering a story people!)
DALE JR GIRL FOREVER 88 wrote:
This is the reason I can’t stand most of Ralph Jr Nation… WHAT DOES HIS DEAD DAD HAVE TO DO WITH HIS TEAM CHEATING?
those other six teams left the cover that protects the oil tank loose. doing so decreases air pressure from under the car and therefore makes you go faster.
had the article not started with jr would so many 88 fan haters be up in arms……for cryin out loud the season just started and they already found something to say negative about him. the fact nascar only fined the team 50 points and jr 50 should tell you that the officials found they did not know about the spoiler. it had already came out that his crew chief was the one responsible. stop calling him a cheater because even after this happened he went and put up one heck of a fight at daytona and showed a vast improvement in racing skills since teaming up with hendrick. he didnt need to cheat, he has the skills all on his own.
I’m peed at the penalty Robby got. I believe Robby was a victim of circumstance. Like Fisha said, he bought everything from Evernham. Give Ray 1/2 the penalty and fine too.
some please put a muzzle on Fishas mouth..just for once…quit crying because JR is a popular driver…just because you don’t like him doesn’t mean you need to get on here and express it in every single post how u hate JR NATION….robby gordon is a loser i could careless if they suspended him for the whole season..one less caution per race if you ask me..yeah it wasnt his fault..but it happens…same with this stuff…wasnt jrs fault yet he got penalized for it..thats the rules regardless who breaks them or the circumstance…NASCAR has to keep an even keel about this or they will be playing favorites like they did with chad knaus iun the past…
if i had a mute button or some way to block out ur posts i swear i would….are u mad that JR was the only succesful hendrick driver in the Daytona 500? does that mean he sucks…man has back 2 back busch series championships…and won 17 races….there are a lot of drivers out there who have won less yet are considered good drivers.
is it just me or does every article with Jr. in it start some sort of argument, geez people chill out
Lets all just say this about Jr Fans and Jr Haters and leave it at this: Agree to Disagree. We fans will always like him, you haters will always hate the fans or the driver. Grow up, and realize that all that really matters is that we get to watch a race on race weekend and see the rivalry with the drivers that we all love and hate. Jr. got penalized, and so did the others. Sounds fare to me.
Me wrote:
Johnson didn’t cheat his way to 2 championships, not once did he drive in a race with a car that hadn’t passed inspection. When they didn’t pass, they would get penalized just like everyone else and get sent to the back. He has never been allowed to race a car that wasn’t just like everyone else’s, so get off your high horse and stop accusing Johnson of cheating…. he isn’t the one that works on the cars and has nothing to do with what the CC’s decide to do with them… Johnson is a great talented driver and THAT is why he won 2 championships. Stop the jealous hating!!!
ok ok hold on JR motor sports is going to appeal the suspension!!! Just last week JR and Hendricks were going to take future action against the crew chief on top of NASCAR, I said it last week and I got crucified by JR nation. JR knew about the spoiler and he got caught cheating. Take your 6 race suspension and move on JR motor sports. You tried to pull and fast one and you got caught. Robby Gordon got caught and he’s appealing the suspension because he said mopar and GER sent him prototype. Teams need to learn that NASCAR set these rules for the COT and they need to follow them there is no good excuse. Also
Me Feb 20th, 2008 at 3:20 pm Quote
“I’m not a Jr hater… I’m a Jr fan hater. There’s a BIG difference. I don’t think they make a big deal about it, it’s just the fact that Jr fans act like the guy walks on water and does nothing wrong. I always read last year how everything was Theresa’s fault for his failing & cheating. What’s the excuse for him now? All I can say now is “Welcome to Hendrick Jr, get used to it, just don’t take after Johnson & cheat your way to 2 championships”.
Couldn’t have said it better myself and omg as sooon as you under estimate JR Nation they come and say crap like this
DALE JR GIRL FOREVER 88 Feb 20th, 2008 at 4:06 pm Quote
“DID ANYONE EVER THINK THAT DALE JR WAS NOT IN A GOOD MOOD FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND EVEN AT THE 500 BECAUSE EVERYTIME HE WENT PAST TURN 4 HE HAD HIS DAD ON HIS MIND I FEEL SO BAD FOR JUNE BUG AND THE WHOLE TEAM AND EVERYONE WHO REMEMBERS DALE SR. EVERYONE MAKES A MISTAKE SO BE IT. I LOVE JR TO DEATH AND WILL ALWAYS LOVE HIM. BUT FAN REALLY DONT EVEN GIVE THE DRIVERS ROOM TO BREATH. WE JUST STARTED THE 08 SEASON AND 88 WILL ROCK 08 LOVE YA JUNE BUG”
Now before my good buddy Jr88fan comes in here and yells at me for knocking JR I know not all JR nation is as dumb and retarded as DALE JR FOREVER88 but 95% are .So what in the hell does SR have to do with this. It didnt stop JR from winning the 500 in 04.IS there a excuse JR nation will not come up with. Next when he doesnt win califoria, what it going to be, His pet gerbil died and he was heart broken.i mean come on! So back to my point JR take the fine be a man of your word crack down on your crew chief, and don’t cheat again.And to ALL the driver and teams that got caught, man up and take the docked points, suspensions, and fines.
DONT SUSPEND THE CREW CHIEFS FOR THE IMFRACTIONS, SUSPEND THE DRIVER
All racers cheat its just how gets caught stop saying JR NATION is full of idiots every driver has some idiots for fans and when you get caught the first thing you do is appeal every team will do the same it dosnt mean anything thats just what happens.
that was not from jamie that was from me.
Too bad JR,you are only cheating if you get caught.
Just when Junior gets motors that can go the distance, he fails inspection. Is this a prelude of things to come? I hope not. Junior was the “King of the Busch” series for 2 straight years. That was a DECADE ago. Since he arrived in Cup, guys that started after him (JJ48) have won more races and championships. Kenseth has a title and ROTY honors and he came up with Junior. Even Kurt Busch won a Cup title. Junior has to re-invent himself this year and I believe he will. But it will be hard with that Tony Eury, Jr anchor weighing him down. Junior won everything at Speedweeks when they didn’t count ( no points), so he needs to step it up just a little bit. I believe he will be tough to beat.
People, dont READ,
SIX CREW CHIEFS WERE SUSPENED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So Like the Fat MAN SAID TO his Skinney wife who was taking him to the Bank for all His Money.
Suck it up and Die !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fat Man so I can enjoy the RACE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just a thought? why does everybody call jr a cheater it clearly states in story hendrick was penalized 50 owner points not jr.
Darrell iam with you about the fish, the 20 year old kid always has a mouth full. FISHA PLEASE ZIP YOUR LIPS!
Here is something that I noticed on another message board, and it brought up a good point. What does penalizing Jr’s Nationwide drivers points 50 points do? He is only running a few races and will end up 50somthingth in points anyway. The Nationwide penalties for Cup drivers need to be more severe, Ban him from all Nationwide competition for the rest of the season, that would be a penalty. And before all you Ralph Jr Nation crazies start blasting me, I am suggesting that for ALL Cup drivers that race in the Nationwide series on a part time basis, because driver point penalties hold no weight for them.
Lee, on the NASCAR published entry list (and according to Jr and Hendrick) that team is 50% owned by Rick Hendrick, and 50% owned by Dale jr, so I don’t know why they did it that way, but I am guessing because no matter how many owners there are, there is only one set of owner points for that car.
Stop blaming the drivers people, whether it be JR, Jimmie, Jeffie or Tony, Kahne , Robby, Reed or Truex. The driver doesnt work on the car, blame the crew, HELLO!!!!
they cant ban him from NWS competition…nor suspend the driver….they can obviously..but they wont
sponsors put in 100s of thousands of dollars into these cars to see their logo on the track and in the ads…Nascar would not dare for go the money that they would be getting out of that…most of these companys that sponsor dale jr would not sponsor another drive if they got in his car per say…you can penalize him as an owner but not as a driver…penalizing them in the NWS doesnt mean squat for the cup series so why would they care in the first place…
JR NATION can blast you all we want…everytime something is posted on here about him or refering to him regardless wether its an article or a fan posting in the comments, you get on here and harrass and run your mouth to no end about how JR sucks, he shouldnt be driving, people shouldnt care that his dad died…and etc etc….need i say more?
and based upon your BAN feature….then Jimmie Johnson should have been banned from the 2006 season when chad “cheater” knaus got busted at Daytona..yet they won the race..of course they did…oh and so should Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne since they were caught with illegal stuff b4 that race as well…and Robby Gordon should be banned from the NSCS season this year 2 because of his infraction…..you really need to seek other reasons to ban drivers than your own personal vindictions or hatred for them or their fans…
NASCAR IS NOT GOING TO SUSPEND OR BAN DALE JR FROM ANYTHING….he makes them too much money..and thats all NASCAR is about these days…keep on flaming Dale Jr and his fans and i will continue to have my right foot right behind you kicking you out of the way
HOT ROD TODD….
thanks man but obviously it didnt work…Fisha still has a mouthful….but its not anything out of the ordinary
First off know what you are talking about.
WHAT DOES PENALIZING A DRIVER WHO WILL ONLY GET 300 POINTS THIS SEASON, 50 POINTS PROVE TO HIM…??? NOTHING!!!!!!! Get that through your thick skull. THAT is why if you run a part time schedule and you get caught cheating you should get the boot from that series. AND THAT GOES FOR ALL DRIVERS IN ALL SERIES WORLDWIDE!
And you mention that I don’t care that his dad died. WHY SHOULD I? Please tell me. I did not know the man, he was nothing but another race car driver. It is sad for his family that he died, But that does not mean we should feel pity for his son, or his family members 7 YEARS AFTER HE DIED!
He was not a hero like most people say, he was a high school dropout, who was too into alcohol and racing to take care of his kid. Thats Right your HERO was a dead beat dad, and a QUITTER! Yeah thats some hero all right EVERYBODY should look up to him and worship him like he actually cared about his kids and his education….. lmfa0
Grow up, he went out there and raced to race, not for you not for anybody but himself. You bought his merchandise and paid for his cable bill, what don’t you “fans” get that racers do not care about you, to them you are only a source of income.
NASCAR will not suspend Jr because they are afraid of what it might do to the sport… True, but I would rather have a sport that is tough on the penalties for breaking the rules, then a sport were championships and wins mean nothing because people cheat.
Face it Jr is an 2nd rate Cup driver who is only where he is because of his father, and only has 90% of his fans because his dad died on the track. Had his dad died of natural causes from old age, nobody would care about it and still harp about it today.
Fisha695…
After that posting i wonder if there is a single ounce of respect for you left in anyone. you sound heartless and content with it. how can you belittle a mans death and then say “its sad for his family that he died”? the reason we respect JR is because he has an integrity that is lacking in the sport. you dont hear about him punching his teammate or getting into screaming matches and car “fights” with other drivers. as for his father, we respect him because he dropped out of school but didnt let it stop him. when Dale jr. got out of hand and wanted to drop out he forced him to stay because he knew that he was lucky and it was tough starting out. he took a car and a number and built an empire out of it. the three generations of Earnhardt’s took a sport, along with the Pettys and molded legacy’s out it with heart and determination. if Dale senior had died of natural causes we would still admire him and admire the son that he made into not only a great driver, but more importantly a wonderful human being. both men love there fans and would take the time out to sign a t-shirt or hat with or without a win. you disgust me fisha and i hope im not the only one
by the way that 90% loved Jr when his dad was alive
I am heartless so what, thats the way I was raised in a military family, there is no room for feelings, and I say whats on my mind instead of trying to fit in with the crowd and going with the popular decision.
Also as far as Jr and school goes, Jr has said (and people I know who went to school have said that Jr said this from the day he arrived at the school) is that Teresa is the one that convinced Sr to send Jr to Oak Ridge instead of letting him drop out and try and make it.
And how come I don’t see all this pity for the other Sr and Jr combo… Bobby Hamilton Sr followed the same ,if not harder, road that Dale Sr did, and Bobby Jr is in the same boat as Dale Jr is, INCLUDING being “forced” out of the family team after their fathers death. Yet nowhere near the amount of people are praising Bobby Sr, and Bobby Jr the way they are Dale Sr, and Dale Jr.
Oh and that 90% from before 2001 turned into the 10% after 2001 when he got all the bandwagon fans that are destroying NASCAR.
You know Fisha, i have heard youre ranting and raving for too long. From what i understand, you are 20 years old, or close to it. MY DEAR, you can look up as much crap on the internet and watch the movies and still not know what the hell you are talking about. Unless you have been watching racing from day one, and stayed up on it, watched the rules change over the years, you know zip. Keep checking the internet for info, not all of it is right. You want to sit there and degrade Dale Sr to the end of the earth, he did the best he could. Dale Sr managed to pull off more out of his life than you will ever hope to. EVERYONE makes mistakes. The reason he is more popular than the other seniors, he is a bigger name and was a better driver, plain and simple. As for those bandwagon fans ruining NASCAR, youre sitting here throwing in youre opinion pissing off more people than you can handle, youre one in the same you are talking about doll. And i have news for you, just because you are raised in a military family, has NOTHING with you being an a$$. My brother is a marine and has been for 5 years, been to Africa and Iraq, and he, thank god, is nothing like you. So there you go, im not sticking with the crowd, i said what was on my mind.
Hey Me, I haven’t been here for a few days but I see I’ve struck a nerve with you about the whole Johnson/Hendrick comments. If you try cheating & get busted for it guess what? YOUR STILL A CHEATER. If you try to steal something and get busted for it YOUR STILL A THIEF!! Hendrick is famous for it so don’t come down on me for talking about it. Don’t tell me to get off my high horse, you have no idea who I’m even a fan of! I like alot of drivers for alot of reasons, but one thing thats the same with all of them? Their crew chiefs are there for every race during the year and not taking a 6 week “vacation” from the track! I’m not bashing anyone on here for their opinion and I would expect the same from you.
)
(And thanks Truex1Fan
JR’s popularity is not proportionite to his talent.
Cheating has always been a part of Nascar just for example THE KING Richard Petty and his 200th win the motor was illegal. Nascar let him keep the win but the money, points and trophy went to someone else. BTW i was 14 yrs old when this happened and now i’m 41.
George Thompson wrote:
Your absolutely correct George. The king was caught many times. He had cars that they banned from racing..etc