Penalty will motivate Earnhardt Jr. at Kansas
Do I agree with NASCAR's decision to set a precedent by taking away points? Not really, but in NASCAR's defense, the $10,000, $25,000 and $50,000 fines don't seem to get people's attention. They're not going to run the wells dry with fines so taking away points is the next step.
Like his father, Earnhardt Jr. lets situations like this one roll off his back. In some ways, it may give him extra motivation — not that he needs it — to succeed at a 1 1/2-mile track like this week's venue, Kansas Speedway. The 8 team's 1 1/2 semi-banked flat track program has been just short of a disaster, but they felt like they had a good test.
| Speed Mail Larry McReynolds |
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For the sake of the sport, when it's all said and done in seven weeks, I hope that 25 points doesn't mean anything, just like the 25 points they took away from the 8 team at Bristol in March for causing a caution didn't mean anything.
But we have already seen a prime example of how critical 25 points can be. If you don't think so, just ask Jamie McMurray and Chip Ganassi who were docked 25 points at that same Bristol race for not meeting the X measurement on his rear window. The 42 team missed the Chase by 15 points.
FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.
"Larry McReynolds: The Big Picture" is on bookstore shelves now, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.
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