NASCAR docked Gordon 100 owner points and 100 driver points. Kerr was suspended for six races and fined $100,000. The penalties took much of the luster off of Gordon's eighth-place finish in the Daytona 500.

If the commission upholds the point penalties, Gordon will remain in 37th place in the owners standings, significant in that only the top 35 are locked into the field for each Cup race. Should the point penalty be rescinded, Gordon would be 21st in owner points.

Gordon indicated Tuesday during testing at Phoenix International Raceway that the loss of his appeal might drive him to the reunified IndyCar Series. Gordon said he could field his own car in the open-wheel series.

Gordon's use of the unapproved nose followed his switch from Ford to Dodge, announced Feb. 1. That left five days to prepare new cars for Daytona, during which Gordon took delivery of the Charger nose (which had been submitted to NASCAR but had not completed the approval process), instead of the Avenger nose in use by Dodge teams.

Gordon has characterized the infraction as an honest mistake, citing his unfamiliarity with the Dodge product. Both Dodge and Gillett Evernham Motorsports, with whom Gordon recently entered into a technological alliance and buyer/supplier relationship, have spoken out in support of Gordon's appeal.

"The real issue is intent -- and it was obvious that there was no intent to get around the rules," GEM owner George N. Gillett Jr. said Tuesday. "The other was that there is absolutely no belief on anyone's part that the mistake would have led to any performance advantage."

In hearing Nationwide Series appeals for the second straight day, the commission amended penalties levied against the No. 1 team of James Finch and the No. 77 team of DeLana Harvick. That followed rescission of penalties incurred by the No. 64 team of Rusty Wallace Racing in an appeal upheld on Monday.

All three of the Nationwide penalties involved improperly secured oil tank covers, which fall into the category of unauthorized aerodynamic modification. In the case of the Finch car, driven by Johnny Sauter, the commission shortened the six-race suspension of crew chief Newt Moore to two races and transferred the $15,000 fine imposed on Moore to Finch.

In the case of the Harvick car, driven by Cale Gale, crew chief of record Charles Wilson appealed his $15,000 fine and six-week suspension, though neither the owner nor driver penalties were appealed. The commission reduced Wilson's fine to $5,000 and shortened his suspension to four races.

The commission was scheduled to hear the appeal of Nationwide team owner Carl Haas (No. 14 car driven by David Gilliland) Tuesday night and that of owner Johnny Davis (No. 0 driven by Kertus Davis) Wednesday morning. Both appeals also stem from penalties involving oil tank covers that were not fastened securely.