MOTORSPORTS No fighting in the pit area, NASCAR stresses with fines

Dave Blaney's crew chief was fined for an equipment violation.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS -- NASCAR fined Kasey Kahne's crew chief $10,000 and put him on probation Tuesday for his role in a fight in Tony Stewart's pit at Chicagoland Speedway.
Tommy Baldwin was fined $5,000 for violating a rule prohibiting fights in another team's pit area and $5,000 for not controlling crew members. He also was placed on probation until Dec. 31.
The sanctioning body also said it was fining four crew chiefs for equipment violations earlier this month at Daytona.
"For not doing anything, it's a big, big hit for the team," said Baldwin.
Incident
The fight in Stewart's pit happened after the driver spun out race leader Kahne on a restart Sunday in Tropicana 400. Kahne crashed into the wall and Stewart went on to win.
Baldwin and his crew went to Stewart's pit, where a heated discussion turned into a shoving match, with crew members falling over tires until NASCAR officials intervened. Ray Evernham, Kahne's car owner, later said that if Stewart wasn't suspended he would give the driver a good beating.
"NASCAR has made its decision; now it's time to move on," Evernham said in a statement. "I understand why Tommy and the team reacted the way they did in the heat of competition."
Baldwin got the message from NASCAR.
"You can't voice your opinion, and you can't leave the pit box," he said. "I understand they're trying to make an example."
Marc Reno was fined $25,000, and three other crews were penalized for equipment violations before the NASCAR Nextel Cup race July 3 at Daytona International Speedway.
Reno, crew chief for Bobby Hamilton Jr., and Jimmy Elledge, crew chief for Casey Mears, were fined $20,000 apiece for misaligned carburetor throttle bodies discovered during prerace inspection. Reno was fined an additional $5,000 because a rear deck lid did not fit the required template during inspection before practice for the Pepsi 400.
Todd Berrier, crew chief for Kevin Harvick, and Kevin Hamlin, crew chief for Dave Blaney, were fined $1,000 each for using unapproved oil tank breather hoses. Those infractions were discovered by NASCAR inspectors before qualifying.
Kahne sued
DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. had filed a lawsuit against Kahne, accusing the NASCAR Nextel Cup rookie of breaking a contract requiring him to race in its cars.
According to the suit filed last week in Wayne County Circuit Court, Kahne signed a contract that obligated him to drive Fords for Robert Yates Racing and appear in promotional activities. Kahne bolted Ford last October to drive this year for Evernham Motorsports.