And here's the penatly

# Robby penalized for rear axle: NASCAR has issued penalties to the #7 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a result of rules violations committed at Lowe’s Motor Speedway earlier this week. The #7 car, driven and owned by Robby Gordon, was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4I (any determination by NASCAR Officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-10.6H (rear axle housing exceeded the maximum specified toe of plus or minus one degree) of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book. The violation was found during post-race inspection on May 25. As a result, Gordon has been penalized with the loss of 50 championship owner and 50 championship driver points. Crew chief Kirk Almquist has been fined $50,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR PR)(5-27-2009)

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Permalink Reply by Eric on May 27, 2009 at 4:42pm

this should be on the HE-MAN board! lol!!
pictures later? lol

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Permalink Reply by Matt/Canuck on May 27, 2009 at 8:02pm

Looks like low toe tolerance all around

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Permalink Reply by Jay on May 27, 2009 at 3:38pm

At least it wasn't back to the tail end of the lead lap, 50 points and $150,000!

I agree with TOG. Now they know the limits of the toe.

In all of my years of following NASCAR I don't recall such an infraction. Does anybody else know? At least all other competitors know the inspectors will be looking for this in the future.

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Permalink Reply by TOG on May 27, 2009 at 3:39pm

if he finished the race in the 20-25 range, he would have gotten around 90-100 pts.
He finsihed 3rd, got 170 , lost 50 points of those, so he gets points for about a 15th place finish.

Got $200,000 for third , so the $50g loss equals his pay to a 15th place finish.

All things considering, could have been much worse.

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Permalink Reply by steve wilson on May 27, 2009 at 3:47pm

No single car teams,didnt Long and Robby get the memo?

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Permalink Reply by TOG on May 27, 2009 at 3:53pm

No suspensions,no missed races, only 50 points . I was hoping for no infraction, just a grey area issue, but all things considred, could have been much worse.

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Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on May 27, 2009 at 4:08pm

Yup. Wasn't he running 22nd about to get lapped? And came away with a 3rd place finish. Thats a good net win! Thankfully the race was called!

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Permalink Reply by TobaccoRoad on May 27, 2009 at 4:33pm

That is what I was thinking also.

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Permalink Reply by Turtle7 on May 27, 2009 at 3:45pm

If I felt that the rear end was within tolerance, and if I knew that my gage setup was correct, I would appeal the ruling requesting that NASCAR provide documentation that their gaging is independently certified as correct, the temperature when the toe reading was taken and measurement setup used to determine the toe. After working in Aerospace manufacturing for a number of years, it always amazed me how much gages could change with temperature and wear over a year.

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Permalink Reply by Shop Goddess on May 27, 2009 at 4:17pm

There is usually a standard temperature range for QC departments to maintain accurate gauging and inspection methods. In the shops I have worked in, calibration on personal tools takes place as often as every 6 months, and you always check any gauging and inspection fixtures every time you run a job. Most inspectors know how to calibrate and verify accuracy, and 'independant' verification is not common.