Steven Wallace knew he should have skipped Nationwide Series practice on Thursday. Although practice runs had been precarious with the new cars on Wednesday, Wallace never expected a piece of debris would send the #66 Toyota to the garage prematurely. However, Wallace’s primary car was destroyed after Reed Sorenson’s tire flew into his windshield, crushing the A-post at the front of the driver’s window. Sorenson ran over debris From the #49 Jay Robinson Racing Chevy that destroyed his undercarriage and tire. The tire and other debris shot into the grill of Wallaces’s #66 Toyota. “(Sorenson) hit a piece of lead is what it was,” said Wallace, who was 11th fastest during the first practice on Wednesday. “The 32 hit it and blew his left rear tire off and then it went right through the front of my car and through my radiator. I think if it had gone through the windshield it would have killed me. That’s scary (stuff), for sure. But I’m glad to be here to talk to you.” The debris NASCAR discovered on the track turned out to be a combination of five six-inch bricks of lead and tungsten weights from the frame rail of the #49. According to sources, Mark Green was preparing to take his first lap of the day and as he pulled off of pit road the vibration caused the weight to dislodge since the cap restraining the lead was not secure. The lead weighs 22-pounds and costs between $150-200. The tungsten weighs 35-pounds and costs $1,000 per brick. In the past, NASCAR has fined teams per the pound and after destroying the #66 and 32 cars, the pending penalties are expected to be sizeable.(Fox Sports)(7-1-2010)
UPDATE: NASCAR announced that two NASCAR Nationwide Series crew chiefs have been fined due to rule violations during last weeks event at Daytona International Speedway. Curtis Aldridge, crew chief for the #49 team, was fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2010, for violating Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20A-2.3A (improperly attached weight) of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rule Book. The violations occurred during practice on July 1.
AND Gary Showalter, crew chief for the #40 team, was fined $5,000 for violating Sections 12-1, 12-4-J and 20A-5.10.1B(3) (venturi height was not dimensionally correct). These infractions were discovered during opening-day inspection on June 29.(NASCAR)(7-7-2010)
