Stewart’s qualifying time was disallowed after posting the second-fastest time in qualifying and he started the race in 42nd position.

NASCAR found the team to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the NASCAR Rule Book); and 20-2.1J (unapproved open vent hose inside of the car).

Crew chief Steve Addington was fined $25,000 and placed on probation until Aug. 22nd. Car chief Jeff Meendering was also placed on probation until the 22nd.

Drive Tony Stewart and car owner Margaret Haas have each been penalized with the loss of six driver and owner championship points, respectively.

SHR competition director Greg Zipadelli said:

While we respect and accept NASCAR’s decision, we want to be clear that there was no malicious intent. In a rush to replace a cracked rear windshield that happened during tech inspection prior to qualifying, we jostled a cooling hose that was behind the seat. We understand NASCAR’s position and will abide by its decision.

Zippadelli will join SHR as competition director. There was speculation during the season that Zipadelli would join SHR as Stewart’s crew chief, as the two won two Sprint Cup championships together. But, following the firing of Darian Grubb, Stewart chose Steve Addington to sit atop the pit box. Grubb joined JGR as crew chief for Denny Hamlin, with Mike Ford getting released.

JGR confirmed Zipadelli’s release. No word on who will replace him as crew chief for the No. 20 car.

Update: In another tweet, Utter reported that Jason Ratcliff will serve as crew chief for the No. 20 team. Ratcliff climbed the ranks in the Nationwide Series, working at Sadler Racing and Brewco Motorsports before joining JGR in 2005 as crew chief for JJ Yeley. He then went on to serve as crew chief for Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, winning the 2009 Nationwide Series championship with Busch.

Update 2: JGR issued a press release indicating the moves.

The three JGR crew chiefs were each fined $50,000 and placed on probation until the end of the calendar year.  All three car chiefs along with JGR’s senior vice president of racing operations were also placed on probation until the end of the year.

JGR brought unapproved oil pans to the track on Friday. A typical oil pan weighs about four pounds, while the JGR oil pans weighed between 20 and 30 pounds.

Some said that the heavy oil pans would allow the teams to remove weight elsewhere in the car and put it low on the front of the car, which could provide a handling advantage.

In my opinion, NASCAR is getting soft with their fines this season.  Remember in 2006 when Chad Knaus was ejected from Daytona Speedweeks?  He had a device that raised the rear window of Jimmie Johnson’s car, giving it an aerodynamic advantage in qualifying.  How about in 2005 when Todd Berrier was suspended for four weeks and fined $25,000 for doctoring a fuel cell on Kevin Harvick’s car at Las Vegas.

A $50,000 fine may be a bit stiff for the crew chiefs, but probation is basically a slap on the wrist. It’s NASCAR’s way of saying,  ”We’ll be watching you.” But, beyond that, it’s really not a penalty.

I think they should have received a points penalty. I think they should have lost owner’s points, and maybe even driver points.  It would be different if their oil pans were a pound or two heavier than usual.  But 20 to 30 pounds?  That was obviously done on purpose in an attempt to give the JGR cars an unfair advantage.

A move like this is unnecessary for the JGR cars.  As we saw this weekend at Michigan, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch didn’t need any help making their cars faster.

Every team tries to bend the rules to get any advantage they can. It’s the nature of the sport. But, if NASCAR wants to change that perception, they should make the penalties stiffer, including raising fines.

In this particular case, I think the fines were slightly fair, but not as high as I would have liked to see.

All three JGR cars were found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in an event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the NASCAR rule book, or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-5.5.4A (oil pan, failure to submit component) of the Sprint Cup Series rule book.

Crew chiefs Mike Ford (No. 11 car), Dave Rogers (No. 18 car) and Greg Zipadelli (No. 20 car) have been fined $50,000 each and placed on NASCAR probation until the end of the calendar year.

In addition, all three car chiefs – Chris Gillin (No. 11 car), Wesley Sherrill (No. 18 car) and Jason Shapiro (No. 20 car) along with Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Jimmy Makar have been placed on NASCAR probation until the end of the year.

Stewart’s current crew chief, Darien Grubb, could become director of competition for SHR, a role that was recently opened when Bobby Hutchens and SHR parted ways.

This could mean that if Carl Edwards moved to Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 next season, which has been rumored, he may bring crew chief Bob Osborne with him. This, of course, is speculation, as no official announcements have been made.

Update: Tony Stewart denied rumors that Greg Zipadelli would be joining his organization next season. He called it untrue in a Sports Illustrated article.

Update 2: Greg Zipadelli has denied rumors about reuniting with Tony Stewart, according to the Associated Press. Zipadelli admitted that he is not happy with how his no. 20 joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is running, but he denied that he would be leaving the team, noting that he had two years left on his contract.

Zipadelli said:

I love Tony, he’s as close to me as my brother. But that doesn’t mean anything. I love the organization I work for, they’ve been very positive and very supportive for over 13 years. I learned a long time ago to never say never in this sport about anything.

Stewart did not speak about Zipadelli, but he said that the team was not ready to hire a competition director. The team recently released Bobby Hutchens from that position, and is looking at filling the role. Stewart said:

We haven’t got anywhere yet. We are still looking at our options. It would be nice to have a person in that position. We definitely want to get that role filled. At the same time, we want to make sure just like we did when we hired Bobby, we want to make sure we’re hiring the right person. So we’ll take our time on it.

Captain Thunder Racing

Hamlin currently sits 17th in points. After eight races last season, Hamlin was 11th in points. Logano is currently 24th in points, compared to being 12th in points after the eighth race last season.

According to Captain Thunder, JGR wants Zipadelli to move to Hamlin’s team because Zipadelli has championship experience — winning two Sprint Cups with Tony Stewart — and JGR officials believe the No. 11 team needs that experience.

Hamlin has only one top 10 finish this season; a season in which many expected him to dethrone five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Ford has taken much of the blame for this season’s performance, as he did at the end of last season for Hamlin’s failure to win the championship.

Logano has been just as bad as Hamlin this season — posting only one top 10 in eight races. Some selected him to be a dark horse to make the Chase. At this rate, he will not.

While JGR experienced engine problems earlier this season, Captain Thunder contends that chemistry issues may be the bigger problem. Ford and Hamlin have been at odds since last season, he claims. And, Zipadelli was not enthused to go from two-time champion Stewart to an 18-year old rookie.

Update: Several media members are reporting via Twitter that this rumor has been denied by officials at Joe Gibbs Racing. At this point, this should be considered a rumor only.

Update 2: Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin have both denied the rumor that a crew chief swap between the two teams is imminent.

Hamlin said:

It was news to me. [Joe Gibbs] called me as soon as he saw it and I was like, “Maybe I should be part of this decision.” And he was like,”‘There is no decision.” Mike is my guy. He will always be my guy.

For example, Kasey Kahne, a two-time winner this season, missed the Chase despite the fact that he’s won twice as many races as Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick. The AP notes, “He and his No. 9 team can only blame themselves – and consecutive 40th-place finishes leading into Richmond– for their late summer collapse. But the issue could be deeper than that.”

“NASCAR’s top four teams” — Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, and Roush Fenway Racing — accounted for 22 of 26 wins this season. The other four belong to Kahne and Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. But, the AP says, none of them made the “the Chase, and – coincidence? – all drive Dodges.”

Dodge is struggling behind the other automakers both on the racetrack and in sales. It announced that it was pulling out of the Craftsman Truck Series. “So as the race for the title begins Sunday in New Hampshire, it will be interesting to see what happens to Dodge as its teams are left out of the action.”

Another “interesting” thing, the AP says, is “how Stewart and his Joe Gibbs Racing team handle their final 10 races together.”  Following the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, radio communications between Greg Zipadelli and Stewart indicated that there might be some cracks in that relationship.

“As [Stewart] pulled off the track following the second-place finish, he criticized his team’s performance for letting another victory slip away.” But, “Zipadelli sharply reminded him they win and lose as a group. After, Stewart was surly and didn’t want to dissect yet another on-track defeat.”

With Stewart leaving to pursue ownership after 10 years with Zippy, it a possible that the two could give up on each other before the season ends.

Greg Zipadelli, current crew chief of the No. 20, will be Logano’s crew chief next season.

The team also announced that Logano will make his Sprint Cup debut at Richmond International Raceway in September driving the No. 02 Home Depot car.

Logano may also make a few starts in Hall of Fame Racing’s No. 96 before season’s end.

Logano made his Nationwide series debut earlier this season and posted his first victory in only his third start.

Both Stewart and Zipadelli said they would remain close friends.

Stewart said:

We’ve accomplished so much in our 10 years together on the track, and off the track, he’s been like a big brother to me. It’s a friendship I cherish and expect to continue, even while he stays at Joe Gibbs Racing and I move on.