Crewmembers Penalized For Texas Melee

NASCAR has assessed penalties to crew members from the No. 5 and No. 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams for their involvement in post-race incidents on Nov. 2 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition, the crew chiefs from those two teams also have been penalized.

Jeremy Fuller, a crew member with the No. 5 team, along with Dwayne Doucette and Jason Ingle, crew members with the No. 24 team, each have been fined $25,000 and suspended from NASCAR through the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point races. All three were found to be in violation of Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing and Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty – involved in a post-race physical altercation with a driver on pit road.

Dean Mozingo, a crew member with the No. 24 team, has been fined $10,000 and suspended from NASCAR through the completion of the next three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points race. He was found to be in violation of Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing and Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty – involved in a post-race physical altercation with another crew member on pit road. 

Kenny Francis, crew chief of the No. 5 team, and Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 24 team, have each been fined $50,000 and placed on NASCAR probation through the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship point races. They were found to be in violation of Section 9-4A: Crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members, Section 12-1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing and Section 12-4.9: Behavioral penalty. 

“While the intensity and emotions are high as we continue through the final rounds of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the actions that we saw from several crew members Sunday following the race at Texas are unacceptable,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR senior vice president, competition and racing development. “We reviewed the content that was available to us of the post-race incident along pit road, and identified several crew members who crossed the line with their actions, specifically punching others. 

“We therefore have penalized four crew members as well as their crew chiefs, as they ultimately are responsible for members of their team per the NASCAR rule book,” Pemberton continued. “A NASCAR championship is at stake, but we can’t allow behavior that crosses the line to go unchecked, particularly when it puts others in harm’s way.”