NASCAR hands crew chiefs, members penalties for post-race fight

NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski avoided fines after a fight on pit row Sunday at the AAA Texas 500, but their crew chiefs and crew members received penalties on Tuesday resulting from the brawl at Texas Motor Speedway.

Gordon’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, and Kahne’s crew chief, Kenny Francis, were hit with $50,000 fines and put on probation through the end of the season, which has six races left.

Gustafson and Francis were cited for violating a rule that states the crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members.

Crew members from Gordon’s team and Keselowski’s team were also penalized.

Jeremy Fuller, Dwayne Doucette and Jason Ingle were each fined $25,000 and suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series championship points races. NASCAR said their actions were detrimental to racing and in violation of rules stating that crew members are not to be involved in a post-race altercation with a driver on pit road.

Dean Mozingo, who is on Gordon’s crew, was fined $10,000 and suspended for the next three Sprint Cup Series championship points races as a result of his involvement in the altercation.

“While the intensity and emotions are high as we continue through the final rounds of the NASCAR Chase, the actions that we saw from several crew members Sunday following the race at Texas are unacceptable,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR senior vice president/competition and racing development in a release. “We reviewed the content that was available to us of the post-race incident along pit road, and identified several crew members who crossed the line with their actions, specifically punching others.

“We therefore have penalized four crew members as well as their crew chiefs, as they ultimately are responsible for members of their team per the NASCAR rulebook. A NASCAR championship is at stake, but we can’t allow behavior that crosses the line to go unchecked, particularly when it puts others in harm’s way.”

Keselowski, whose car contacted Gordon’s late in the race and led to punches on pit road, was not punished but is on probation until Nov. 12 for his actions after the Oct. 11 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“People that were involved in the post-race altercation in terms of throwing punches and doing things that are over the line for us, we’ll be dealing with that with some harsh punishment,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said.

Keselowski ended up third in the race and helped his cause in the three-race Eliminator Round in the Chase for the championship. Gordon came in as the points leader but finished 29th in the race and dropped to fourth in the standings.