Joe Lax, crew chief for Jeremy Mayfield’s #36 Toyota, is expecting a significant penalty after his team got caught putting illegal weight in the car. In pre-qualifying inspection Friday at California Speedway, Mayfield’s Bill Davis Racing car was found to have too much camber in the rear end. The team fixed the problem, which requires taking a blowtorch to the rear of the car, and went back through the inspection line, but the car was found to be too light on the right side. Then, in a moment of desperation, a team member stuck a piece of lead inside the water bottle to add the extra weight. But NASCAR discovered the illegal trick, which is considered tampering with the car.(SceneDaily.com)(9-1-2007) UPDATE: Joe Lax, crew chief for the #36 Toyota driven by Jeremy Mayfield in the Nextel Cup Series, has been fined $25,000, suspended from NASCAR competition until Sept. 19 [2 races] and placed on probation until Dec. 31 due to rule violations last week at California Speedway. Prior to qualifying, Lax was found to have violated Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment not conforming to NASCAR rules); 20-2.3 (added car weight); and 12-4W (improperly attached weight; weight installed inside water container). Those infractions also have resulted in a loss of 25 championship driver points for Mayfield and a loss of 25 championship car owner points for Gail Davis.(NASCAR PR)(9-6-2007)
