NASCAR Fines Hendrick Motorsports Crew Members For Brawl

Not a single driver involved in the postrace fight on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway was penalised. Instead, four crew members and two chief crews from Hendrick Motorsports were punished for their roles in the brawl.

NASCAR suspended and fined the Hendrick Motorsports crewmembers and chiefs namely: mechanic Dwayne Doucette, hauler driver/mechanic Dean Mozingo, engine tuner Jason Ingle, rear tire changer Jeremy Fuller and crew chiefs Alan Gustafson and Kenny Francis.

Doucette, Ingle and Fuller were suspended for six points races and fined $25,000, while Mozingo was suspended for three races and fined $10,000. Crew chiefs Gustafson and Francis were fined $50,000 each and placed on six-race probation for failing to control members of their teams.

Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon were exempted from punishment because they did not throw a punch during the brawl, which is consistent with previous NASCAR rulings.

"With NASCAR's new Chase format, we're seeing an unprecedented level of intensity every single week," Rick Hendrick said. "Emotions run high when you're racing for a championship, and that's exciting for our fans and everyone involved with the sport, but there's a line the competitors need to be cognizant of, and we understand that."

The Texas brawl on Sunday started when Gordon confronted Keselowski following the AAA Texas 500. On pit road, Gordon was upset with a pass Keselowski attempted as he tried to split Gordon and Jimmie Johnson who were racing for the lead. Keselowski and Gordon made a contact which resulted to a flat tire and eventual spinning on Gordon's end.

As the two were exchanging words, Harvick pushed Keselowski towards Gordon, which triggered the melee. Afterwards, several Hendrick crewmembers were throwing and landing punches. What happened on the pit road was downright scary and with all the showing and punching, someone could've been seriously hurt.

According to the NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton, the actions of several crew members during the incident were unacceptable. He further claimed that a NASCAR championship is at stake and they cannot allow such behaviour to go unchecked, especially that it puts other's safety on the line.