It seems that NASCAR can't avoid controversy.
LAS VEGAS An AP story which apperaed in newspapers around the country: --
Three disputes in the three races has NASCAR officials shaking their heads in frustration.
The season-opening Daytona 500 was stopped after a multicar accident late in the race, and Sterling Marlin, the leader at the time, was penalized for getting out of his car and trying to pull a dented fender away from his right front tire during a red flag.
A week later, at Rockingham, N.C., Marlin was forced to follow Matt Kenseth across the finish line under a yellow flag after NASCAR chose not to throw a red flag, which would have allowed him at least a shot at the eventual winner.
In Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, Marlin was involved in another controversy. This time NASCAR rescinded a 15-second penalty for speeding on pit road because it couldn't notify its pit road official in time to stop Marlin's Dodge from leaving his stall.
"In these situations, we always rule in favor of the competitor and that's what we did today," said NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter.
"We communicated to the pit official that there be a 15 second penalty and the pit official didn't hear it," he added. "He was told three times and the official said he didn't hear it and neither did the officials on either side of him.
"One of our responsibilities is to provide the best possible officiating and, obviously, this was a gaffe. We have to find out why it happened and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Hunter reiterated earlier comments by other NASCAR officials that any subsequent penalty for the speeding violation would have been "too severe and it was our mistake."
Greg Zipadelli, crew chief on Tony Stewart's Pontiac, wasn't particularly happy with NASCAR's decision and also criticized the sanctioning body for its current aerodynamic rules that he says favor Fords and Dodges.
"When you put stickers on and Dodge and Ford drive away from you, when we have four (fresh tires) and they get two, when we led half the race. I don't know -- you tell me," Zipadelli said after Stewart's fifth-place finish.
"If that wasn't clear that we are at a disadvantage, then I don't know that I've ever seen one. And they let the 40 car (Marlin) speed on pit road and they don't get him, so I don't know what to tell you about it."
Stewart led a race-high 76 laps and appeared to have the strongest car in the field until a four-tire pit stop near the end put him out of contention.
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TEAM NO-NAME: The break that put Todd Bodine's unsponsored Ford on the pole and won him the one-race backing of Checker Auto Parts went away on Sunday.
"The handling got a little unpredictable. We either were loose in and tight off (the corners) or tight in and loose off. It would change every lap," Bodine said.
He ended up 29th and Joe Nemechek, who also lost his sponsor as a result of Kmart's Chapter 11 bankrupcty filing, fared little better, ending up 19th.
"We had a rocket for a while," Nemechek said. "I'm not sure if we dropped a piston or broke a valve spring, but toward the end it was just dead on acceleration."
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LEADING THE WAY: Hut Stricklin and rookie Jimmie Johnson were among a record 13 drivers who swapped the lead Sunday at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
Stricklin took the lead during the second round of pit stops, leading lap 126. It was his first run in the top spot since March 1997 in Darlington, S.C.
Johnson took the lead on lap 206 and held it for six circuits, his first time out front in his six Winston Cup outings.
Johnson finished sixth, and Stricklin was 24th.
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WARD'S WOES: Ward Burton, who won the season-opening Daytona 500, lost ground in the point standings.
Burton, who finished 13th at Rockingham, wound up 21st in the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 and slipped from second to fifth in the points standings.
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ROUSH REBOUNDS: Roush Racing continued its rebound last year's disappointing season.
Mark Martin finished third Sunday, his best performance in more than a year. "It's been so long since I've been competitive, since I could see the front of the pack," he said. "That reminded me of the old days."
Martin finished fourth twice last season.
Teammate Jeff Burton came in ninth on Sunday. Matt Kenseth, coming off a win at Rockingham, was 14th, and Kurt Busch, who ran up front most of the day, faded to 20th with an electrical problem. All finished on the lead lap.
The team had 18 top-5 finishes last season. It has three after three races this year.
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SPARK PLUGS: Sunday's announced attendance of 137,500 was a virtual sellout at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the largest crowd to attend any sports event in Nevada history. ... Attrition was minimal in Sunday's race with 41 of 43 cars running at the end; Bobby Hamilton hit the wall on Turn 3 on the 10th lap, and Shawna Robinson went out after hitting the wall in Turn 2 in the 212th lap ... Fourth-place Ryan Newman was the highest finisher of three rookies in the race; Johnson was sixth, and Robinson 42nd.