Carl Long ran afoul of the 2009 NASCAR rule book and is still paying the price. Denny Hamlin’s refusal to pay his $25,000 fine for actions detrimental to stock car racing has many people thinking about Long’s punishment. Admittedly different circumstances – Long had an engine that was 0.17 cubic inches too large – Denny just purposefully did something that NASCAR advised the drivers not to do. In both cases, rules were broken. In Long’s case the engine builder may have caused the issue, or possibly the overheating which caused him to change the engine
which caused it to get inspected. In Hamlin’s case he went out of his way to break the rules. He chose to compare the current car (Gen 6) to the maligned previous car (Gen 5). Hamlin and his team Joe Gibbs Racing are quite capable of paying the $25,000. Denny, in an attempt to validate his tantrum, refuses to pay. NASCAR will allow him to continue racing and simply garnish his race earnings. Long’s crew-chief was fined $200,000 and Long, the crew-chief, and the car owner (his wife) were all suspended for 12 Cup points-paying events and put on probation for the rest of the year. Long freely admitted that they were unable to pay the fine. NASCAR decided they couldn’t allow a sliding-scale of penalties. That leads me to believe the amount of the fine is also listed in the rules. Of course, since both infractions were covered under the same rule that doesn’t seem likely. So it seems they already use a sliding-scale with regard to the penalty for breaking
that particular rule dependent upon the circumstances. Then why are they unable to reduce the fine for Long, or allow him to work it off in the Cup garage, or provide him with a “Road to Recovery” program? NASCAR allows A.J. Allmendinger to return after failing drug tests and admittedly taking pills from a stranger without knowing what sort of pills they were. They’ve allowed Jeremy Clements to return after he uttered a racial slur in front of a member of the media on the weekend a “Drive For Diversity” driver was beginning his much hyped Nationwide Series season. Jeremy Mayfield, who also failed drug tests, has been told he can return if he completes the NASCAR “Road to Recovery” program. Apparently all NASCAR wants from Carl Long is money or absence, because NASCAR doesn’t seem to be offering a NASCAR sponsored program for Carl Long to facilitate his return to the sport. I wonder why…..
The Way I See It!