By Staff
DAYTONA BEACH – Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been fined for a rules violation discovered during pre-race inspection at Darlington Speedway last weekend.
Earnhardt Jr. was docked 100 team points for having an unapproved modification to the lower rear wing of his Budweiser Chevy.
Additionally, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. has been suspended six races and fined $100,000. The suspension, which includes this weekend's All-Star Challenge, runs through July 4.
Officially, the Budweiser Chevy was in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules), and 20-3.1.3B (the NASCAR-approved upper and lower rear wing mounting brackets must not be modified to obtain a rear-wing angle of less than zero degrees or more than 16 degrees) of the 2007 NASCAR rule book.
Eury Jr. has also been placed on probation until Dec. 31.
Car owner Teresa Earnhardt has been penalized with the loss of 100 Championship Owner points.
The loss of points drops Earnhardt Jr. from 12th in the NEXTEL Cup standings to 14th. He is now 54 points out of the 12th and final spot for NASCAR's Chase for the Cup.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. will appeal the severity of the penalty, which could allow Eury Jr. to be on top of the pit box for the All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway.