Gordon wins race, but his car fails inspection
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jeff Gordon was relaxed, smiling and enjoying a postrace news conference when someone dropped a bomb:
Have you heard reports that your car is too low?
The three-time Daytona 500 winner charged from fourth to first on the final lap of his 150-mile qualifying race Thursday, apparently making him a co-favorite with first-race winner Tony Stewart for Sunday's stock car Super Bowl.
Gordon was annoyed by the news that his Chevrolet had failed the inspection.
"Are you serious? That sucks. I'm mad about that right now," he said with a look of disbelief.
Asked what the penalty should be, Gordon wasn't sure.
"I mean, I think I should start the Daytona 500 on Sunday, but where I start will be the other thing," he said.
Turns out it will be next to last in the 43-car field.
NASCAR inspectors said Gordon's No. 24 Monte Carlo was almost an inch too low, but blamed it on a part failure — not cheating. He was not stripped of the victory.
"We feel it was unintentional, and actually fairly unsafe," said NASCAR competition director Robin Pemberton. "We feel that it was a part failure. ... I think it would be marginal at best if there was any advantage."
NASCAR said it believed a mechanic made a mistake when the shocks were installed before the race.
"One thing you can't argue is the car was low," Pemberton said. "We have to look at that, and as a result, it will move to the tail end."
Gordon's was the sixth team in three days to be caught with technical violations, and the season hasn't even begun.
The most serious of the violations was committed by the new team of Michael Waltrip, whose Toyota failed inspection after an illegal substance was found in the gas line. His crew chief and team director were suspended indefinitely and kicked out of Daytona International Speedway. Waltrip was docked 100 driver and car owner points.
That was on the heels of lesser violations by the teams of Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs, whose crew chiefs all were fined and suspended. All drivers also lost points.
Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith said the team will file an appeal for the penalty assessed to Kenseth on the basis that NASCAR's system of assessing penalties is inconsistent.
"I'm sitting here, and Michael Waltrip gets two-thirds the penalty of the last fuel additive alteration situation, and (Kenseth) got an unprecedented, never-seen-before penalty," Smith said. "Now you've got Jeff Gordon, who gets absolutely nothing for a deal that was similar to ours."
There were no questions about Stewart's opening victory as he easily held off 2004 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps. To add the 500 to his 11 other Daytona wins, Stewart likely will have to beat Earnhardt. And Gordon still could be a top challenger, even starting from the rear.
Stewart said he gladly would give up his other Daytona wins for a triumph Sunday.
"Yeah, the qualifying races and the Shootouts and the July race are great, but I really want this race on Sunday badly," he said.
Four drivers — two from each race — drove their way into the lineup Thursday, including Waltrip, who got what he wanted: a chance to prove he didn't need to cheat to make the 500.
"I'm just sad and happy at the same time," said Waltrip, who hours earlier apologized for his team's role in the cheating mess.
