NASCAR Penelties

MountaineerTom · September 4, 2001

From thatsracin.com

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NASCAR officials didn't take kindly to some of the on and off-track altercations during last weekend's Grand National series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

Four drivers - Kevin Harvick, Chad Little, Rich Bickle and rookie Scott Wimmer - were penalized Tuesday by the sanctioning body.

Harvick's penalty was the harshest. He was fined ?,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31 for being "involved in an altercation in another competitor's garage area." As is standard, probation covers all NASCAR events, not just future incidents in one series.

Harvick, the series points leader, and Little became engaged in a physical confrontation in the garage following the conclusion of Saturday's South Carolina 200. Little was fined ?,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31 for the same incident.

Harvick was also warned about his "over aggressiveness" on the track following the conclusion of Sunday's Winston Cup race. He and car owner Richard Childress were asked to report to the NASCAR hauler to discuss Harvick's actions with series officials.

Bickle was given a ?,000 fine and probation until Dec. 31 for "intentionally hitting another competitor's car during a caution." On Lap 140 of the 147-lap race, Bickle drove into the rear of Grubb's car under caution and sent him into the outside retaining wall between Turns 1 and 2. The result was a 32nd-place finish for Grubb.

"The (wreck) under caution was obvious to everyone. My spotter (Rocky Roan) even reported to us that Bickle told his spotter that he was 'paying me back' for last week and earlier this race," Grubb said. "I had a good run going and we were going to have a good finish until I got taken out."

Finally, Wimmer was fined ?,500 for "reckless driving after the conclusion of the race." Wimmer and Jeff Green tangled on the final lap of the race and Wimmer started driving up to Green's car after the checkered flag. Greg Biffle, who was slowing, turned into Wimmer's fast-approaching car. The two collided, doing extensive damage to both cars.