NASCAR Fines Five Drivers $5,000 Each for Tampering

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR officials seized intake manifolds from five cars before Wednesday’s practice for Saturday’s Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

They fined the five drivers $5,000 each for illegally trying to circumvent the effects of the 1-inch carburetor restrictor plates used at the track.

The drivers fined were Buddy Baker, Davey Allison, Cale Yarborough, Ken Bouchard, and Dale Jarrett. Kyle Petty had a faulty gasket taken from his car, but was not penalized.

Dick Beatty, Winston Cup director, said the drivers fined were all trying to force more air into the engine through the manifold. NASCAR requires that the carburetor opening be restricted to 1 inch at Daytona and Alabama International Motor Speedway to reduce speeds.

If any of the drivers are caught cheating again, they will be suspended 12 weeks.

Patty Moise will try to qualify for the Firecracker 400 stock car race. If successful, it would mark her first superspeedway appearance in a Winston Cup race, and Moise would be the first woman to compete in a Winston Cup race at Daytona International Speedway since Janet Guthrie drove in the 1980 Daytona 500.