NASCAR officials inspect Martin Truex Jr.'s car as some of his crew members look on Thursday afternoon, July 3, 2008, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. The car was impounded. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

After an appeal hearing Monday, the National Stock Car Racing Commission voted unanimously to uphold the penalties NASCAR imposed for violations discovered July 3 during initial prequalifying inspection for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Specifically, Truex's No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet failed to meet the templates used to measure the roof of the car.

Accordingly, NASCAR docked Truex 150 Sprint Cup championship and penalized car owner Teresa Earnhardt 150 owner points. Crew chief Kevin "Bono" Manion was slapped with a $100,000 fine, a six-race suspension and probation through the end of the year. Car chief Gary Putnam also received a six-race suspension and probation.

According to a statement from the commission, DEI did not contest the violations themselves, only the severity of the penalties. Representatives of DEI argued that the infractions were minor and unintentional and that the lowered roof was actually a competitive disadvantage.

The commission found, however that the violations were clear-cut and the roof was low across a broad area. The decision to uphold all penalties leaves Truex 17th in the standings, 233 points behind Denny Hamlin in 12th place, the last Chase-eligible position.

--(Cont'd From Front Page)-- Seven races remain before the field is set for the Chase, which begins Sept. 14 in New Hampshire. Truex made the Chase last season.

Manion and Putnam worked with the team for the July 12 Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway while the appeal was pending. Their suspensions have been adjusted to begin with this weekend's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

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