Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan
NASCAR announced on Thursday that they have fined Stewart-Haas driver and team owner Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet, $35,000 for violations of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book
Stewart’s fine stems from a violation of Section 12 of the rule book, which details member conduct guidelines. According to Section 12.8.1, actions that could result in a $10,000-$50,000 fine include disparaging the sport and/or NASCAR’s leadership, or verbal abuse of a NASCAR official, media member, fans, etc.
The Indiana native was fined for comments he made at a media session Wednesday when he was asked about comments made by Stewart-Haas crew chief Rodney Childers had made earlier in the day about loose wheel and lugnut issues happening with NASCAR.
RELATED: See Stewart’s Lug Nut Comments
“Hopefully it gets a little more under control as we go along,” Kevin Harvick crew chief’s Childers told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We don’t need drivers getting hurt. We don’t need tires in the stands and anything else. So hopefully, it gets a little better.
“Initially, the teams did a good job with it. Now, honestly, the teams aren’t doing a good job with it. The teams have made it out of control. Somebody will have to step in and say something or do something to fix it, but it’s not NASCAR’s fault. Is not NASCAR’s problem. It’s the teams problem.”
Stewart earlier in the day had just announced he was returning to racing this weekend at Richmond International Speedway, after missing the first eight races of the season due to an off-season injury.
Story Update 11-09-2016 11:10pm:
NBC Sports has released an exclusive statement that was sent to them by Denny Hamlin that the Sprint Cup driver’s council will pay Stewart’s fine. The statement reads:
“We as drivers believe Tony has the right to speak his opinion on topics that pertain to a sport that he has spent nearly two decades helping build as both a driver and an owner. While we do not condone drivers lashing out freely at NASCAR, we do feel Tony was in his rights to state his opinion. We as a Council support him and do not agree with the fine. Therefore, we fellow council members have agreed to contribute equally to paying his fine.”
The drivers council formed last year and meets throughout the year with NASCAR to discuss various issues, ranging from competition to safety. The current members include Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Stewart, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano.
