Talladega Fuel Infraction Costly to Mayfield's Team

By SHAV GLICK

May 3, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Driver Jeremy Mayfield and co-owner Michael Kranefuss’ Mobil 1 team, two days after winning their first Winston Cup race at California Speedway, were hit Tuesday by one of the largest penalties in NASCAR history for using an illegal fuel additive during a race two weeks earlier at Talladega, Ala.

Mayfield lost 151 points in the season standings, crew chief Peter Sospenzo was suspended four races until June 6, and Kranefuss, who shares team ownership with Roger Penske, was fined $50,000.

Another potential infraction, involving the height of Mayfield’s Ford Taurus after he won Sunday’s NAPA Auto Parts 500 at Fontana, will be acted on today or Thursday, according to Mike Helton, NASCAR senior vice president and chief operating officer.

“The roof incident is an entirely different issue,” Helton said. When the car was measured after the race, it was found to be under the required height, but team members said that was because Mayfield jumped on the roof in celebration in Victory Circle. The car was impounded for inspection by NASCAR officials.

Samplings from Mayfield’s fuel tank after the Talladega race indicated that a horsepower-enhancing additive had been added to the Unocal fuel supplied at the track to all Winston Cup cars.

“Our investigation found that a single crew member working on the car added an additive to the fuel during the last pit stop without the knowledge of the driver or the crew chief,” Helton said. “How much it may have helped, or not helped, I do now know, but we do know that the bottom line is that it was an illegal substance.”

The sampling was taken from the No. 12 car because it was the pole winner and pole-winning engines are inspected at every race.

The crew member, whose identity was not revealed, was disciplined but not fired, said Chip Williams, Penske-Kranefuss team spokesman.

“There isn’t a whole lot you can say under the circumstances,” Kranefuss said. “Mistakes were made and there were certainly some grave errors in judgment. We won the pole at Talladega by following the rules, which NASCAR has confirmed.

“Needless to say, we accept the penalty . . . and we apologize to our fans, our sponsors, NASCAR and other teams. We will make sure nothing like this will ever happen again. We win as a team, we lose as a team and we stay together as a team regardless of the circumstances. People make mistakes, but we have to move forward.”

The penalties will not affect the car, which Mayfield will drive Saturday night in the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond, Va. A temporary crew chief will be named today from Penske-Kranefuss personnel.

Mayfield, whose victory at Fontana had moved him to seventh place in points, dropped to 14th after giving up 151 points. The penalty included 126 he earned at Talladega for a 14th-place finish and an additional 25. Why the 25?

“When I was a youngster and my dad spanked me, the first two whacks were for what I’d done, and the last one was so I wouldn’t do it again,” explained Helton.

Helton said the reason it took more than two weeks to announce the penalties is because it was impossible to reach all the people involved for one-on-one interviews because of team travel, the Easter week vacation and aerodynamic tests being conducted during that period.

“There was no videotape of the infraction,” Helton said. “All of our information came from private talks with many people, including the crew member who admitted it.”

One of the growing problems within NASCAR garages is that outside sources make claims to team owners that they can circumvent NASCAR inspections with illegal properties.

“We have to get across the fact that our [racing] environment is continually changing every day,” he said. “The NASCAR Winston Cup series is not the same as it was two, three, even 10 years ago. With the magnitude of the sport today, outside influences have grown and along with that growth comes more responsibility.

“The core of our business is what happens in the garage area. We must do everything we can to protect that area. It’s not business as usual. It’s a different animal today.”

The only fine by NASCAR more than that levied against Kranefuss came in 1995 when Ray Evernham, crew chief for Jeff Gordon, was fined $60,000 for using an unapproved suspension part in a race at Charlotte, N. C. Last year, Scott Eggleston, crew chief for Sterling Marlin, was fined $50,000 for using an illegal engine in the July race at Daytona Beach, Fla.

James Ince, crew chief for Johnny Benson’s winning car in last Saturday’s Winston West race at California Speedway, has been fined $10,440 for having unsanctioned parts in the engine of the No. 50 Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac that Benson drove.

The team was also penalized 108 points, but that is not considered significant since the team is not running for the championship.

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Winston Cup Point Leaders

Jeremy Mayfield lost 151 points in the season standings, dropping from seventh to 14th place:

1. Bobby Labonte: 1516

2. Mark Martin: 1496

3. Ward Burton: 1443

4. Jeff Burton: 1396

5. Dale Earnhardt: 1384

6. Dale Jarrett: 1305

7. Jeff Gordon: 1279

8. Rusty Wallace: 1271