McMurray's miss leaves Sabates upset

RICHMOND, Va. -- Jamie McMurray, so infuriated by the engine trouble that eliminated him from the Chase for the Nextel Cup, chose not to say much following the Chevy Rock n' Roll 400.

Felix Sabates on the other hand, did.

Felix Sabates

Sabates, a minority owner in Chip Ganassi Racing, blasted NASCAR for the 25-point penalty it levied against McMurray's team at Bristol Motor Speedway back in April.

Sabates said the penalty, the result of an incorrect "x-measurement," cost McMurray a shot at a championship.

By Sabates' calculation, had McMurray not been docked those 25 points, he would have finished 10th in the standings.

As it is, he fell 15 points short.

"It comes down to those 25 points," Sabates said. "That's what it comes down to. You can say, 'Well we had blown engines.' But everybody else had blown engines.

"Everybody had wrecks. That's part of racing. The 25 points was not part of racing. The 25 points was robbery."

VIDEO Victory Lane Jeremy Mayfield celebrates his Chevy Rock and Roll 400 win Final Laps Jeremy Mayfield runs to the checkers at Richmond Spencer Spins Dale Jarrett spins Jimmy Spencer on Lap 292 Knocked Out Johnson, Junior and Martin are involved in a big wreck Helton on Spencer Mike Helton talks about the pileup started by Spencer and Mears Richmond Rumble A handful of cars get together in a crash on Lap 170 Early Cautions Three cars go for a spin during the first 52 laps •   Results •   Standings

Sabates' frustration stems from the fact that Tony Stewart, who last season at Texas became the first driver to be cited with an "x-measurement" infraction, was not docked points.

"I don't mind being penalized, if it's equal with everybody else. This wasn't equal," Sabates said. "I asked for an explanation and was told nothing.

"I was told by (NASCAR president) Mike Helton, 'I'm sorry.' I said, 'Mike, this is not fair.' He said, 'I'm sorry.' That was it.

"I've been saying this was going to bite us in the (butt), and it did. My only thing, what I was upset about is that Tony Stewart did the same thing and they didn't fine him any points. Why us and not him? That's my only complaint. Maybe I'm not Joe Gibbs. I'm not Joe Gibbs."

When told of Sabates' outburst, NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter responded:

"This is not Felix's first dance," Hunter said. "He knows how things work."

Sabates admitted the Bristol car was illegal, but said it the team did not try to deceive NASCAR.

"It was on a downforce car, so you could tell it was an honest mistake. They said it was an honest mistake," Sabates said. "They said, 'Well, we have to fine you 25 points because we fined Hendrick 25 points last year after Homestead.' Well big deal.

Jamie McMurray was in the top 10 for one week in the first 26 races. Credit: Autostock

"That was the (No. 60) car, some car that wasn't even in the points. Big deal. But Tony Stewart did the same exact thing, but in (Stewart's) case, it was a clear attempt to deceive NASCAR.

"They were plain trying to circumvent the rules. We weren't."

Sabates knew the penalty would eventually haunt them.

"I told my wife when it happened it was going to bite us in the (butt)," Sabates said. "I just felt it was going to happen, and it did. I'm upset because the 25 points was taken from us and not from the Gibbs team."

McMurray is now left to race for 11th place in the final Nextel Cup standings. He isn't nearly as disappointed with the fact that he missed the cut as he is that recurring engine failures were a contributing factor.

A team spokesman said McMurray lost a cylinder with some 20 laps remaining, at which time the No. 42 Dodge crew requested that Mike Wallace not pass McMurray.

Wallace was driving the No. 09 Dodge, which is aligned with Ganassi Racing. Wallace passed McMurray anyway, infuriating crew chief Donnie Wingo, who yelled at Wallace's crew chief Mark Reno on the radio.

The spokesman said McMurray's engine eventually let go at the end of the race.

"I don't know how much we missed by, but that's the way it goes with the points," McMurray said. "We'll look back and try to win one of these races in the next 10. We have it all we had but we just came up a little bit short. I'm not upset, just need to make sure our motors don't break anymore."