Penalties UPDATE: NASCAR Officials announced today the suspension of a NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief for rules violations discovered in inspection prior to Sunday’s NAPA 500 at California Speedway in Fontana, CA. Mike Beam, crew chief of the #32 Ford Taurus, received a two-race suspension (until May 22, 2001-suspended from the next two NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship or Invitational Events) and a $5,000 fine for not having the manufacturer’s date visible on the seat belts. Beam was penalized under Section 12-4-Q in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book, “Any determination by NASCAR Officials that parts and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform… or have not been approved by NASCAR…” Along with the above-mentioned penalty, Beam was issued another $500 fine for rules violations (roof camera shell not within the proper dimension) discovered in inspection prior to the Talladega 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. He was penalized under Section 12-4-Q, “Any determination by NASCAR Officials that parts and/or equipment used in the Event do not conform… or have not been approved by NASCAR…” Robin Pemberton, crew chief for the No. 2 NASCAR Winston Cup Series team, was penalized for rules violations (fuel cell top rack) discovered in inspection prior to the NAPA 500 at California Speedway in Fontana, CA. Pemberton was fined $500 and penalized under section 12-4-Q in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book. Additional fines were levied against the following crew chiefs for rules violations discovered in inspection prior to the Talladega 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and were penalized under Section 12-4-Q in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series rule book: #96-Joe Garone, Roof camera shell not within proper dimension, $500; #28-Michael McSwain, Fuel cell top rack, $500; #8-Tony Eury, Sr, Fuel cell top rack, $500; #15-Scott Eggleston, Fuel cell top rack, $500; #1-Paul Andrews, Lightened lug nuts, $500(NASCAR PR)(5-2-2001) UPDATE: PPI Motorsports will not appeal the seat belt related fine and two-race suspension of Tide crew chief Mike Beam announced yesterday by NASCAR. Statement by Cal Wells, owner, PPI Motorsports, regarding the penalty: “As safety conscious as this team is, we would never do anything to impede the safety systems in our race cars. It’s not uncommon – nor against the rules – to remove the manufacturer name labels from seat belts to help tighten the buckles. There was an error in judgment at the car prep stage when the date labels, not just the manufacturer name labels, were also removed from what are essentially new belts. We are extremely frustrated and embarrassed by the penalty and Mike’s suspension, especially since this was not his mistake. However, I have to commend NASCAR for being consistent in enforcing the importance of paying attention to seat belts and other safety elements in Winston Cup cars.” Roy McCauley, race engineer for the No. 32 Tide Ford, will serve as interim crew chief for the next two races(Richmond and The Winston)(PPI Motorsports PR)(5-4-2001)
