Matt Kenseth fined for Nationwide engine violation of new NASCAR rule

  Matt Kenseth and Nationwide tour crew chief Eddie Pardue. The engine room may have made the boo-boo, but these guys have to take the heat. (Photo: Autostock)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   NASCAR has fined one of Jack Roush's Nationwide teams $30,000 and docked it 100 points for violating NASCAR's new-this-season 'sealed engine' rules.
   Matt Kenseth's part-time Nationwide team, which has run only 11 of the 31 tour events, was the one hit, along with crew chief Eddie Pardue.
   NASCAR, in a cost-cutting move, is trying to force Nationwide teams to use an engine in at least three races, it appears. The rule is not very clear.
   However NASCAR puts special seals on key parts of the engines after they are used, and teams are not supposed to break those seals.
   It is unclear if any other Nationwide team has yet been penalized under this rule.
   Any winning engine this season must be sealed after post-race inspection if the team wants to use it again. And drivers are not allowed to run more than three races with new engines before having to revert to a previously sealed engine.
   The engine in question here was in Kenseth's car when he won at Darlington; that's his only Nationwide win this season. It was used again during the summer, apparently at Dover, and again sealed. And it was after that event that the engine was opened, presumably to be 'freshened up,' and the seal broken.
   Precisely when the violation was discovered is unclear; NASCAR announced the penalties Wednesday.