CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carl Edwards was docked 25 points Tuesday because his race-winning car failed inspection at Dover International Raceway.
Every Point Counts
Losing 25 points might come back to haunt Carl Edwards in the Chase for the Championship. In the three years of the chase, the widest margin of victory has been 56 points.
| Winner | Second | Margin |
| Jimmie Johnson, '06 | Matt Kenseth | -56 |
| Tony Stewart, '05 | Greg Biffle/Carl Edwards | -35 |
| Kurt Busch, '04 | Johnson | -8 |
The penalty drops Edwards from third in the Chase for the championship standings to sixth. He's now 28 points behind series leader Jeff Gordon.
Team owner Jack Roush, who celebrated his 100th win Sunday with Edwards' victory, also was docked 25 owner points and crew chief Bob Osborne was fined $25,000.
Edwards' No. 99 Ford was deemed to be too low following post-race inspection. Although NASCAR determined the height infraction was not intentional, the team still was penalized in accordance with NASCAR's strict inspection policy.
Kyle Busch and Johnny Sauter received similar penalties when their cars failed inspection following the July race at New Hampshire. Tony Stewart's car was too low following last week's race in New Hampshire, but NASCAR ruled it was caused by race damage.
Edwards dominated the second half of Sunday's race to score his third victory of the season. The win lofted him thick into the title hunt, just three points behind Gordon. Now he heads to Kansas Speedway mired in the middle of the cluttered standings.
The top six drivers are separated by 28 points.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
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