Missing oil tank cover costs Edwards dearly

March 6, 2008

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Carl Edwards used two straight wins to take the Sprint Cup points lead for the first time in his career.

Yesterday, NASCAR said his Las Vegas victory was tainted and hit Edwards and his Roush Fenway Racing team with its heaviest penalty yet. Edwards was docked 100 points -- knocking him from first place to seventh and moving Kyle Busch into the top spot -- and stripped of the 10 bonus points he would have carried into the Chase for the Championship.

In addition to Edwards' penalty, crew chief Bob Osborne was fined $100,000 and suspended six weeks, and Jack Roush was docked 100 owner points.

The penalties stem from an inspection after the Spring Cup UAW-Dodge 400 on Sunday, when NASCAR discovered the cover was off the oil tank in the race-winning No. 99 Ford.

Rival competitors Monday circulated a photo via e-mail of Edwards doing a celebratory backflip off his car, and the cover is clearly not attached to the oil tank. It's believed that by opening up the oil tank trunk, the air is able to circulate through the car and create as much as 10 percent more downforce.

NASCAR did not comment on the penalties, and Roush Fenway president Geoff Smith said the team had 10 days to decide if it will appeal.

Smith said the team believes a bolt failed on the cover, and it wants the part back from NASCAR to inspect before deciding if it will appeal. Until a decision is made, Osborne will begin his suspension and engineer Chris Andrews will fill in as crew chief.

"It's a tough business for any race team to have to pledge $100,000, 100 points and a six-race crew chief suspension as an indemnity payment to NASCAR against a promise forced from us by NASCAR that no bolt will ever fail its purpose under race conditions," Smith said.

• R. Gordon // A NASCAR appeals committee has amended the penalty levied against Robby Gordon, returning the 100 points the driver was docked for an infraction at Daytona. The reversal saved Gordon's season by moving him up to 21st in the standings.

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Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun

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