When David Reutimann executed a not so perfect retaliation sideswipe of Kyle Busch last weekend in Kansas it brought forth a new conversation about etiquette, specifically racing in the Chase etiquette.

Busch is a Chase contender who was in great position to say in the top three in points, if not take over the point lead after the Price Chopper 400. Reutimann is a non-Chase driver, who sits 18th and had reached his boiling point with Rowdy the two had another run in.

According to Reutimann the two have had more than a few problems in the past. At Bristol in August it came to the forefront when Busch claimed had Reutimann known how to drive the track he wouldn’t have gotten beat. The driver of the Aaron’s Dream Machine didn’t take kindly to the words and filed them away. Then early at Kansas when Reutimann got loose in turn one and had to slow Busch spun him out and that became the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Afterwards Busch said that if Reutimann felt he needed to retaliate it shouldn’t have come at Kansas when he’s racing for a championship, the beginning of 2011 would have been more appropriate. The response stuck with NASCAR nation who broke down the confrontation during the week, who was right, who was wrong and should it have happened at all.

Before the Chase began in New Hampshire last month four-time champion Jeff Gordon admitted he didn’t know what to expect during the final 10 races because of his actions earlier this season. Gordon had angered a few different drivers who vowed payback on the No. 24, including Martin Truex Jr., but they had yet to take action.

Said Gordon at the time, they could have been waiting for the Chase when he had much more on the line then they did. So far Gordon hasn’t had a run in and neither had any Chase driver until last weekend.

Jeff Burton, known as the NASCAR garage’s Mayor because of his responses on the sports issues, proved so again on Friday at California. It comes down to the simple fact that Chase races are no different than any other races during the Sprint Cup season he said.

“The race this weekend is as important to the team that’s 20th in points as it is to the team that’s first in points,” said Burton. “Now I understand that in reality that’s not how it is, but if the team that’s 20th in points doesn’t come here with the same intensity and their sponsor doesn’t feel they’re getting the same opportunity to be successful, then that’s a major problem.”

The Kansas incident could be looked at from many angles but the fact that it occurred during the Chase have been struck in limbo. Respect, is not something that Burton believes you can turn on and off.

“You have to drive people with respect, all the time. You can’t pick and choose when you want someone to respect you and you can’t pick and choose when you’re going to respect them.”

Burton continued by saying that as Chase driver he wouldn’t want anyone coming after him, that includes drivers in and out of the Chase. If a driver’s worried about payback during the Chase some say they should have been more careful during the first 26 races with how and whom they raced.

Unfortunately, Busch found that out the hard way last weekend, regardless of the fact that he didn’t intentionally take out Reutimann earlier in the race, their past history came into effect.

Burton also knew of that saying, “That whole deal that went down last week wasn’t just about what happened last week, it was what happened throughout the year. When you feel like somebody doesn’t respect you and doesn’t show you respect and then they get into you, whether they meant to or not, there’s a different level of thought process.”

Even Burton noted that Busch didn’t wreck the double zero on purpose, however the contact was unavoidable. Reutimann thought differently and he and Busch have been in a war of words ever since. Idle words and no action says Burton, is worse than saying nothing at all.

Reutimann finally acted and Busch now has to get refocused on the Chase. The rivalry shouldn’t be overlooked and the two drivers getting together is a story that is worth covering, but time shouldn’t be spent on talking about Chase drivers being held to a higher standard than those who aren’t in the Chase.

If there’s one important lesson from Burton it’s that every driver should remember that a non-Chaser should race a Chase driver “The same way he races him them every week.”

Like most racing families, the Busch brothers grew up living and breathing the racing lifestyle. With the guidance of their father Tom, a winner of several NASCAR sanctioned events, Kurt and Kyle spent a majority of their time in the family garage being taught how to repair and build race cars.

Both brothers got their first driving lessons at the age of six, driving a go-kart in the cul-de-sac of their Las Vegas neighborhood. At one point early on in their careers, Kyle at the age of ten, served as a crew chief for brother Kurt and his dwarf car team.

Although growing up in the same house and cutting their teeth on the same local race track, the Busch brothers as we know them today, are very separate and different people.

Kurt, seven years older than his brother Kyle, had his first racing experience at Pahrump Valley Speedway in a dwarf car. After winning the Auto Zone Elite Division Southwest rookie of the year honors in 1998, he went on to win the series championship the very next year. The championship led to Kurt’s tryout for Roush Racing’s Gong Show, which he won and earned a spot in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride.

In the No. 99 Exide Batteries truck, Kurt won four races and finished second in the points to teammate Greg Biffle. Kurt made his debut in the now Sprint Cup Series in 2000, after taking over for Chad Little in Dover.

He started off his rookie season in 2001 at Daytona, where after making contact with Dale Earnhardt, he was given the one-finger salute by the intimidator just hours before the tragic events on the last lap of the race that took Earnhardt’s life.

The rest is history for the quiet Kurt, who has gone on to win 22 times in the Cup series and capture the 2004 championship- the first year of the Chase format.

The younger Kyle began his driving career in 1998, just after his 13th birthday, and from then until 2001, earned 65 wins in legends cars and two track championships at the legendary Las Vegas Bullring.

Kyle competed in the Craftsman Truck Series in 1996 at the age of 16, but after events at Auto Club Speedway during a companion event for CART and their world championship, he was ejected from the track by CART officials who didn’t allow drivers under the age of 18 to compete. Kyle in fact, was the reason NASCAR mandated that all drivers be over the age of 18, which went in to effect just weeks after the events at California.

After graduating early with honors from Durango High School to focus on his racing career, Kyle signed a driver development contract with Hendrick Motorsports in 2003—driving in seven ARCA races in their No. 87 Ditech entry and winning his first two races at Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway.

During the following two years, Kyle competed in the Nationwide Series and won five times, claiming the series record for most wins by a rookie, and finishing second in points behind Martin Truex Jr.

The 2005 season marked Kyle’s move to the Sprint Cup Series and his first opportunity to race again his older brother, where he replaced NASCAR legend Terry Labonte in the #5 car and won two times on the way to capturing Rookie of the Year honors. Since then, the fiery and sometimes controversial driver has captured 19 wins and set new records along the way.

After taking different avenues to get to where they are today, the two very different Busch brothers have found themselves in the midst of competing for the very same title in 2010. Due to their age difference, Kurt and Kyle had never competed in the same series until 2005, where both began driving against each other in the Sprint Cup Series.

With a seemingly wide-open Chase this season, this may arguably the first time that both brothers have an equal chance to capture the season ending championship, but don’t expect the brothers to necessarily play nice when the heat of the title chase is at it’s hottest.

Rewind back to 2007, where Kurt and Kyle were amidst a battle between each other during the All-Star Race, where Kurt didn’t give his brother any room—which sent both drivers into the wall and their cars being towed away by a wrecker. After the incident, the brothers didn’t talk for nearly seven months, and it wasn’t until a Christmas wish from their Grandmother for them to get along, did the two finally settle their differences.

With six races left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and competitors finding themselves out of contention for the title after each race, it will be interesting to see if the two brothers play nice around each other, or if there may be another tense Christmas dinner for the Busch family.

For the latest NASCAR talk and information, follow Kyle on Twitter: @TheKyleBrandt

NASCAR, like almost all sports, is based on competition. It’s all about the team with the fastest car, the best setup, the most points and wins. As human beings we love competition. This is exactly why we pick a favorite driver, a favorite car. It gives us a reason to watch on Sunday – to see our driver beat the other 42 guys on the track.

While there may be that one guy that you would just love to see lose more than the others, there is no denying that just being out there takes a great deal of courage.

At this Sunday’s Pepsi 400 televised on ESPN from Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Edwards and Johnson will bring a different kind of courage to the racetrack – Beads of Courage.

Developed in 2005, the Arizona-based nonprofit, international program provides innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care programs for children coping with serious illness.

Inspired by her clinical practice and time spent as a camp nurse at a Paul Newman Hole in the Gang Camp, Jean Baruch started Beads of Courage, Inc.

She says that the joy children received through making things with beads and by wearing them and sharing them with their friends intrigued her. Baruch then translated this into a meaningful intervention that would help kids acknowledge their courage and with the financial support of family and friends, she piloted the program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in 2004 and it has been a huge success ever since.

The program provides children with a strand on which to place their beads, a bead color guide and a membership card.

The “beads of courage” serve as symbols of courage that mark a milestone in the child’s particular path of treatment. The child is given a bead for each milestone, such as a first hospital visit or radiation treatment.

The beads provide the children with a tangible way of recording and telling their stories of survival.

Beads of Courage has partnered with hospitals across the United States, New Zealand and Japan and has lent their support to over 10,000 children in need.

The program’s success will be all the more evident on Sunday as the program’s logo will be featured on the “TV panel,” or rear panel of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion driven by Edwards.

As part of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Samsung’s Helmet of Hope, the logo will also be seen on the helmet of Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet.

Launched in 2008, Johnson’s Helmet of Hope was started to provide fans and media members with the chance to nominate a charity of their choice to be featured on Johnson’s helmet during the Pepsi 400 race at Auto Club Speedway.

This year’s program focuses on children in need in the U.S. and provides ten selected charities with a $10,000 grant and a spot on the “helmet of hope.”

Beads of Courage was nominated by Becca Gladden, of Insider Racing News, and was chosen by the program to be featured during Sunday’s race.

Edwards first discovered the Beads of Courage program while visiting the Aflac Cancer Center in Georgia, a hospital that utilizes the Beads of Courage program.

Just like Baruch, the colorful beads and the joy they brought to the children intrigued the Sprint Cup driver.

During his visit to the hospital, Edwards was given a strand of beads from a child named Dalton to wear for luck. At that Sunday’s race, Edwards wore his “beads of courage” and went on to win the race.

In showing their support for the Aflac Children’s Cancer Center of Atlanta and Beads of Courage, the No. 99 Aflac Racing car will have a new paint scheme for Sunday’s race, featuring the logos of both organizations.

Also, in honor of their commitment to the cause and in celebration of the Aflac Duck’s 10th birthday, Aflac has announced that they will support Beads of Courage with the creation of the Wingman Bead.

According to the Aflac Racing website, the Aflac Duck has come to symbolize Aflac’s focus on pediatric cancer treatment and research.

“Who doesn’t love the Aflac Duck?,” said Baruch, “He is fun, and a highly visible iconic symbol. I personally think he looks great wearing Beads of Courage.”

The hope behind the Wingman Bead is that it will serve as a reminder to kids that they are never alone in their fight for life.

On Sunday, Edwards and the entire Aflac Racing Team will wear the Wingman Bead as a symbol of their support and a reminder to the children that they are never flying solo.

By visiting www.beadsofcourage.org, for just a $5 donation anyone can sponsor a Wingman Bead for a child coping with a serious illness. For $25 donors will provide five children with a Wingman Bead and will also receive their own bead as a reminder of their generous donation.

Each bead is packaged with an Encouragement Book that explains the meaning behind the Wingman Bead and provides the children with fun activities for those long hospital stays.

“Our hope is to get a Wingman Bead to every child in the Beads of Courage program” says Baruch.

Hopefully with the help of Aflac Racing, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Samsung’s Helmet of Hope and the thousands of race fans at Sunday’s Pepsi 400 at Auto Club Speedway, every child in the program will have a Wingman.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring the Beads of Courage program to NASCAR once again in honor of all the kids we support, many who are also motorsports fans,” explains Baruch.

She further explains that having Beads of Courage recognized by NASCAR sends a strong message of support to the children – a message that they have an entire audience supporting them in their journey of life and treatment, a flock of wingmen so to speak.

Here is NASCAR News and Bits: For the Pepsi Max 400 from Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA

** The Pepsi Max 400 will be televised on Sunday October 10 at 2:00p.m. on ESPN, with the drop of the green flag scheduled for 3:00p.m. The race will also be aired on MRN radio and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128. This weeks race schedule prior to Sunday: Friday- Practice 12:00-1:30 p.m. with Qualifying at 3:40 p.m., Saturday- Practice 10:30-11:15a .m. and 11:50-12:50 p.m.. (all times local)

** Three drivers are looking at setting some milestones at Auto Club Speedway. Jeff Gordon driver of the No.24 Dupont Chevrolet, Bobby Labonte driver of the No.09 Phoenix Construction/Graceway Chevrolet, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. driver of the No.88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet are in pursuit of notable top-10 finishes. Gordon No. 275, Labonte No. 200, and Earnhardt Jr. No. 150. Sunday will also mark Earnhardt’s 36th birthday.

** Two-time Grammy winner Kenny Logins will perform a pre-race concert at Auto ClubSpeedway on Sunday, then sing the National Anthem. Fans attending the Pepsi MAX 400 also can enjoy Viva La Fiesta, part of Hispanic Heritage Month.The group will perform at the track’s DiscoverIE FanZone. Quintanilla also will be an honoraryrace official.

** A NASCAR hauler parade is scheduled tostart at 6 p.m. PT from Citizens Bank Arena andvisit Fontana, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga before ending at the Auto Club Speedway garages.** Local schools will be in session Friday when hundreds of local middle school students will spend a day at the speedway to learn about the applications of math and science in racing. Speakers will include Gillian Zucker, president of Auto Club Speedway, Dr. Gary Thomas, San Bernido County Superintendent of schools and Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, Ph.D., author of the “Physics of NASCAR: How to make Steel + Gas + Rubber= Speed.”

** Auto Club Speedway’s Stater Bros.Racefest will take place from 5–9 p.m. PT Thursday in the track’s FanZone with an even dozen NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers slated to attend. The event also includes a freestyle motocross stuntshow with Rockstar Metal Mulisha, live music, rides and games.

** More than 40 couples will marry or renew vows prior to the Pepsi MAX 400. Gillian Zucker will officiate with Michael Waltrip serving as groomsman and Miss Sprint Cup as maid of honor.

June 27th. It was the first race in New Hampshire and Carl Edwards finished 25th. It would be the last time he ran outside the top dozen before the boys headed to California for this Sunday’s fourth race of the ten event Chase. Over that span Edwards has not yet won, but has ten Top Tens to his credit. If only he could finish on top once or twice, the title could wind up his. Then again, maybe he won’t even need it.

Officially, Edwards is 53 points behind Jimmie Johnson in the Chase, but Carl has been hot for more than three months. The big question is if he can continue to be so to the end, or is the big chill about to begin?

Here is how things stand for our hot 20 after the past ten events…

*Chasers in bold

1 (1) – Carl Edwards – 1532 pts
Hasn’t had a bad finish in over three months.
5 (3) – Jamie McMurray – 1374 pts
If not for those six times 30th or worse this season.

2 (7) – Kevin Harvick – 1421 pts
On pace to have the best season of his career

3 (2) – Kyle Busch – 1400 pts
A dream machine turned Kansas into a nightmare

4 (4) – Tony Stewart – 1394 pts
Has left over a hundred Chase points on the table

6 (5) – Jeff Burton – 1327 pts
Too bad about those last 130 miles.

7 (9) – Ryan Newman – 1314 pts
Not bad for only leading 31 laps all season.

8 (10) – Jimmie Johnson – 1313 pts
Thinks California is the place they ought to be.
11 (6) – Juan Pablo Montoya – 1285 pts
Must be thrilled that he is not in Kansas anymore.

9 (8) – Jeff Gordon – 1296 pts
Whenever he feels down he just thinks of Mark and Junior.

10 (17) – Greg Biffle – 1293 pts
Keeping within the top 15 each week would sure help.

12 (13) – Matt Kenseth – 1254 pts
Jack must be a happy man with three in the top ten at Kansas
   �
16 (16) – A.J. Allmendinger – 1173 pts
Has ran well since the Chase; too bad he is not in it.

13 (11) – Denny Hamlin – 1235 pts
Not good, not bad, just was what it was.

14 (15) – Kurt Busch – 1226 pts
Sure glad he didn’t tick off Reutimann.

15 (12) – Clint Bowyer – 1186 pts
Forget the title, he is fighting just to have dinner.

17 (20) – Joey Logano – 1115 pts
Tired of Ambrose and his baby kangaroo jokes.

18 (21) – Mark Martin – 1097 pts
After six straight outside top 15, has been inside the last two.

19 (18) – Martin Truex Jr – 1096 pts
Four straight 20th or worse.

20 (22) – Marcos Ambrose – 1063 pts
Loves singing Six White Boomers to Logano.

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson followed his win at Dover with a runner-up at Kansas, second only to race winner Greg Biffle. Johnson also took the lead in the Sprint Cup point standing, and leads Denny Hamlin by eight.

“Our last two results have erased the disappointment of our race at New Hampshire,” Johnson said. “With a win and a runner-up, as well as the points lead, you could say we put that first Chase race, as well as the Chase field, ‘behind us.’”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin struggled with handling in the Price Chopper 400, finishing 12^th and tumbling from the lead in the point standings. Hamlin, who led Jimmie Johnson by 35 entering the race, now trails the four-time defending champion by eight.

“I guess it’s fitting,” Hamlin said, “that one week after the bottom fell out for Clint Bowyer, the ‘top’ fell out for me.

Now, Kevin Harvick and I have supposedly made up from our incident at Dover. And people want to know what’s wrong with NASCAR. I’ll tell you what’s wrong—feuds that last only a week. A quick solution? Put Brad Keselowski in the Chase field.”

3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 16 laps and finished third in the Price Chopper 400, as Chase drivers occupied to top seven spots. Harvick improved two places in the point standings to third, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 30.

“Believe me,” Harvick said. “Of all people, I know what ‘striking distance’ is, and we’re well within striking distance. Although I wouldn’t dare do the things to Jimmie Johnson that I’ve done to Denny Hamlin.

And speaking of Hamlin, we’ve mended our differences. At least that’s what we’re telling everyone. The truth is, our truce involves one simple agreement….to disagree.”

4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon posted his first top-5 finish since Chicagoland with a fifth at Kansas, his 11^th top 5 of the year. Still winless in his last 58 races, Gordon jumped three places in the Sprint Cup point standings to fifth, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 58.

“I firmly believe someone could win the Cup without winning a race,” Gordon said. “Of course, there are several other things one can do without winning a race. I know, because everything I’ve done in the last two years has been done without winning a race.”

5. Greg Biffle: Biffle raced to a dominating win in the Price Chopper 500, leading 60 laps on the way to his second win of the year. Back in the title hunt, Biffle is now in eighth, 85 points back.

“The No. 16 Sherwin-Williams Ford was perfect late in the race,” Biffle said. “We may not have been fastest at the start, but we were fastest when it counted. Just call my car the ‘High Plains Swifter.”

6. Carl Edwards: Edwards started 31^st and hit the top 10 midway through the race at Kansas, leading two laps on his way to a sixth-place finish, his 16^th top-10 result of the year. He is now fourth in the point standings, 53 out of first.

“Although I’m from Columbia, Missouri,” Edwards said, “I consider Kansas my home track. But, as my winless streak can attest, even at home I can’t be a visitor to Victory Lane.”

7. Kyle Busch: Busch made contact with David Reutimann early at Kansas, causing Reutimann to spin. Later in the race, with Busch running in the top 10, Reutimann struck back, sending the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota into the wall. Busch dropped to 22^nd after the accident, and eventually finished 21^st, one lap down. He fell four places to seventh in the point standings, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 80.

“If my name wasn’t ‘Busch,’” Busch said, “Reutimann would have never retaliated. It’s difficult to swallow being wrecked by a driver who’s not even in the Chase. Reutimann stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong. You’d think I would deserve a break. I guess some free passes don’t come as easily as others.”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch, in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished a disappointing 13^th at Kansas, undone by handling conditions at a track where he’s traditionally struggled. Busch dropped two spots to sixth in the point standings, 70 behind Jimmie Johnson.

“The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge just wasn’t fast enough to challenge for the win,” Busch said. “Unlike my brother Kyle, I didn’t need another car to hinder my Chase chances. The one I was driving handled that fine on its own.

But I‘m surprised David Reutimann wrecked Kyle. Will I seek revenge on behalf of Kyle. Will I take the ‘2’ to tango? Unlikely. I’ve been called many things by many people, but never a ‘nepotist.’”

9. Tony Stewart: Stewart led four times for a race-high 76 laps in the Price Chopper 400, but trouble on late restarts cost him a shot at the win. He finished fourth, and now trails new points leader Jimmie Johnson by 127 points.

“127 points is not an impossible deficit to make up,” Stewart said. “With a rash of failed inspections and a outbreak of practice session feuds, I could be back in business. In actuality, though, the deck is ‘Smoke-stacked’ against me.”

10. Jeff Burton: Late-race handling problems prevented Burton from scoring in the top 5, and he instead settled for a disappointing 18^th-place run at Kansas. Burton fell two places in the points to ninth, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 101 points.

“We’re 101 off the lead,” said Burton, “which doesn’t seem so bad considering there are seven races remaining. But, upon further inspection, that large of a deficit doesn’t really appeal to me.”

For as long as the Chase had been in existence, I have railed about the system. It’s not news that I consider a race within a race more than silly, if not stupid.

It’s happened time after time—a Chase contender gets taken out by a non-Chaser. In MLB, NFL, and NBA, only the championship contender gets to compete for the championship, but this flawed system allows everyone to compete. And then the problems begin. As much as the folks at the headquarters at Daytona Beach want to compete with those stick and ball sports (which is futile), this sport is nothing like baseball, football, and basketball.

Our sport has always been a season-long struggle. The winner of individual races was just as important as the champion. For some odd reason, we’ve now concentrated on the championship from Daytona to Homestead. Ask a true MLB, NFL, or NBA fan, and they will tell you that the championship doesn’t enter their mind until it’s time. In baseball, that’s August. In football, it’s November, and in basketball…well, who knows.

Their playoff system is so intricate that I can’t figure it out. Regardless, we put 43 cars out there and we have 12 championship contenders. Things are bound to happen. On Sunday, it was Kyle Busch and David Reutimann. I’ve never known any trouble between those two, but backmarker Reutimann (and I mean no harm in that statement—only the fact that he is not in the championship run) and Kyle got together in the race. Reutimann retaliated and the result was that Busch lost valuable points and finished 21st. That’s racing. Always has been and always will be, but the age old argument that Busch was going for a championship just doesn’t sit well with me. Not that Busch did anything wrong. It appeared to me that it was just a racing incident.

The problem comes when the flawed system rears its ugly head. On any other day, it would have been just that—a racing incident, but with the Chase system, it becomes a problem. Should those not in the Chase just ride around and not cause any problems? The whole premise of the situation is that NASCAR has created an unnatural situation with the Chase format. Everyone runs and is at the mercy of the other 31 cars on the track. It’s happened several times in the somewhat short history of the Chase. The nature of a race is that everyone is trying to win the race. Even the guy starting 43rd in most cases wants to win and will do anything to accomplish that goal.

In the stick and ball sports, which NASCAR is trying to emulate, that is not the case. Only the champions compete for the win. I don’t know what the answer is. Well, yes I do. Scarp the Chase. Back in my youth, the championship was who won at the end—no one paid much attention to it because the individual race was what was important.

The famed Wood Brothers only ran a select number or races and went for the win in every one. Today, everyone must run a full season to get valued sponsor money. The goal is to make the final cut, and if you do not, you still run to win, but no one notices.

Greg Biffle won at Kansas, but ESPN immediately went to interview Jimmie Johnson, the multi-champion and ask him if he had a few more laps could he have caught Biffle. The winner’s interview was an afterthought, and even then the talk was that he was only 86 points behind Johnson and what he could do to catch up.

The win was secondary. It’s my problem, this hatred of the Chase, something that the media tells us everyone has embraced, but I thought Biffle’s win was significant. It was his second of the year—more than the darlings of the media—and it was only the second Ford win of the year.

Never mind that because Johnson finished second and is “on a roll.” Whatever happened to winning a race? I guess you’ll have to ask those who created the Chase. The single worst thing that has happened to the sport in my lifetime.

The appeal lodged by Richard Childress Racing to the NASCAR Commissioner has been heard and the decision rendered.  John Middlebrook, NASCAR’s Chief Appellate Officer, upheld NASCAR’s penalty of the RCR No. 33 team, with some slight modifications.

The fine for the crew chief of the No. 33 team, Shane Wilson, has been reduced from $150,000 to $100,000.  Middlebrook also reduced the race suspensions of Wilson and Chad Haney, the team’s car chief, from six to four weeks, with their suspensions ending on November 3^rd but probation continuing until December 31^st.

One of the most important penalties, the championship owner and driver points, however, remained unchanged.  Driver Clint Bowyer and team continue to have lost the 150 points, keeping them in the cellar of the Chase point standings and virtually out of championship contention.

“After reviewing all the data, presentation and factors involved, I am ruling NASCAR was correct in its decision to levy penalties,” Middlebrook said.  “I believe that the revisions that have been made to the penalties are consistent and fair to both parties involved.”

This was Middlebrook’s first appeal since becoming the Chief Appellate Officer for NASCAR at the start of this race season.  Middlebrook, a retired General Motors executive, replaced Charles Strang, who had been in the Commissioner role for many years.

This is the final step in the appeal process for Richard Childress and his team and the decision is binding.  Childress felt strongly, however, that he had to take that final step after being denied by the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel last week.

“We proved beyond a reasonable doubt how the car was found to be out of tolerance after the race,” Childress said in a statement after the Appeals Panel had ruled, continuing his contention that the tow truck that pushed the No. 33 race car to Victory Lane was the culprit.  “I am disappointed but not surprised by the decision knowing how the appeal system is structured.”

Childress’ driver Clint Bowyer also did not hold out much hope for the appeal to overturn the ruling.

“I’ve told Richard it’s not worth fighting,” Bowyer said.  “In my opinion, their minds are made up.”

“The championship hopes are done for myself,” Bowyer continued.  “The thing that I have to do now is be the best teammate I can be.  We have to bring a championship home.  We still have two shots at that.”

There is no doubt that the focus will now turn to Bowyer’s teammates, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton.  Harvick, who led the point standings at the end of the regular season, is currently in the 3^rd position in the Chase standings, while Jeff Burton remains less in the hunt in the 9^th spot.