NASCAR News: Edwards Gets Huge Penalty

After thinking about it for a few days, NASCAR dealt a harsh penalty to Carl Edwards and his team for a missing oil tank lid cover. Edwards was docked 100 points and the 10 points of seeding for the victory if he makes the Chase, while his crew chief is $100K lighter and has 6 weeks to think about it. Seems a little harsh to me. As an aerospace engineer familiar with drag in some applications, it's hard to believe that a missing lid cover would make that big a difference. I don't know exactly where it's located, but unless it's part of the grill or hood, it's hard to believe that would create a significant enough down-force to generate a competitive advantage. I understand NASCAR is working hard to keep the field level and prevent teams from making illegal changes, but many of the other drivers think this is a ridiculous penalty as well. To put it in perspective, 100 points is more than half of his points from that race and more than 20% of his leader's total through 3 races. The penalty dropped him from 1st to 7th. Expect an appeal.

In other news, the weather this weekend in Atlanta is looking less than ideal. Friday, the prediction includes T-storms, and the Nationwide race on Saturday will have flurries and wind with a high of 46. Welcome to the sunny South! It will be 68 tomorrow afternoon, though. Hopefully, they are able to get qualifying in, or else the "go or go home" cars will be screwed for the 2nd time in 4 weeks, crippling teams like the #84 hoping to make the top 35 through the first 5 races.