Crew chiefs penalised, Evernham 'apologises'.

Kasey Kahne's Nextel Cup crew chief Tommy Baldwin has been fined $10,000 for the incident that occurred at last weekend's Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Baldwin was fined $5000 for violating Section 12-4-A of the Cup Series rule book, actions detrimental to stock car racing, for being involved in an altercation in another competitor's - Tony Stewart's - pit area, and another $5000 for violating Section 9-4-A, which states that the crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his or her driver, car owner and team members, following the brawl that broke out. He was placed on probation until 31 December 2004.

Responding to the penalties, team owner Ray Evernham issued a statement which, while stopping short of apologising for the incident, said that the squad wanted to put it into the past.

"NASCAR has made its decision; now it's time to move on," Evernham said, "I understand why Tommy and the team reacted the way they did in the heat of competition.

"NASCAR has rules. I agree with rules. Evernham Motorsports also has rules. NASCAR has made its decision and imposed its penalties. Now, I will impose the appropriate penalties for Evernham Motorsports. This is behind us now. As a team, our focus is on the upcoming events and the future."

Baldwin was not the only crew chief to find themselves a little lighter in the wallet, as four of his contemporaries were fined for inspection violations during the recent Pepsi 400 weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

Marc Reno, crew chief for the #09 Miccosukee Resorts Dodge of Bobby Hamilton Jr, and Jimmy Elledge, crew chief for the #41 Target Dodge driven by Casey Mears, were each fined $20,000 for violating the catch-all 'actions detrimental to stock car racing' portion of the rule book, this time because of a misaligned carburettor throttle body in their respective cars. Both infractions were discovered during pre-race inspection at Daytona.

Reno also was fined $5000 for violating the same section of the regulations when a non-approved rear deck lid that did not fit the templates was also discovered during opening-day inspection.

Todd Berrier, crew chief for the #29 Goodwrench Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick, and Kevin Hamlin, crew chief for the #30 America Online Chevrolet of Dave Blaney, were each fined $1000 for running an unapproved oil tank breather hose. Both infractions were discovered during pre-qualifying inspection.