2011 Year In Review: Other Drivers' Penalties

1988 NASCAR Winston Cup champion, Bill Elliott started five races in 2011 including the first four events of the year. Elliott's best finish was 12th driving for James Finch in the Daytona 500.

2011 Statistics For Bill Elliott
40th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 12th in the Daytona 500
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Bill Elliott
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 8 - Pre-Race to the rear, Adjustments after Impound


Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America

David Stremme made 18 starts, all for Inception Motorsports in NASCAR's Sprint Cup standings while not qualifying for five other events. Stremme attempted to run the full distance in only two of those starts while the others were start and park efforts. Stremme's best finish of 2011 was 32nd at Bristol in the Irwin Tools Night Race.

2011 Statistics For David Stremme
41st in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 32nd in the Irwin Tools Night Race
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For David Stremme
Race 11 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 19 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 27 - Pre-Race to the rear, Missed Driver Intros


Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Hermie Sadler made three starts in the Sprint Cup Series in 2011, all for TRG Motorsports. Sadler's best finish came at Martinsville in the Tums Fast Relief 500 where he placed 26th.

2011 Statistics For Hermie Sadler
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 26th in the Tums Fast Relief 500
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Hermie Sadler
Race 31 - Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru; Speed-Entering pits, Stop & Go; Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru


Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Reed Sorenson made three starts late in 2011 for Robby Gordon while not qualifying for two events at Texas and Homestead. Sorenson's best finish came at Martinsville where he placed 36th

2011 Statistics For Reed Sorenson
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 36th in the Tums Fast Relief 500
1 lap led

2011 Penalty Report For Reed Sorenson
Race 30 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Missed Driver Intros
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field


Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

California driver, Scott Speed made 13 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2011. Speed's best finish was 32nd at Atlanta in the Advocare 500.

2011 Statistics For Scott Speed
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 32nd in the Advocare 500
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Scott Speed
Race 25 - Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru
Race 30 - Passing on a start or restart, Pass Thru


Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular, David Starr made four starts in the Sprint Cup Series in 2011 while not qualifying for four other races. Starr's best finish came in the night race at Bristol where he placed 27th after leading two laps.

2011 Statistics For David Starr
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 27th in the Irwin Tools Night Race
Two laps led

2011 Penalty Report For David Starr
Race 12 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 25 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field Missing Driver Intros


Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Two-time Daytona 500 champion, Michael Waltrip started three races in 2011, all on restrictor plate tracks while missing his home track event in Kentucky. Waltrip's best finish of the three events was an ninth place at Talladega in the Good Sam Club 500.

2011 Statistics For Micahel Waltrip
42nd in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
1 top 10
Best Finish: Ninth in the Good Sam Club 500
1 lap led

2011 Penalty Report For Michael Waltrip
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end


Photo by Perry Nelson/NASCAR

Canadian driver, Andrew Ranger made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in 2011 driving for Frankie Stoddard's team in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen. Ranger started in and finished 35th, falling out due to transmission issues.

2011 Statistics For Andrew Ranger
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 35th at the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Andrew Ranger
Race 22 - Safety violation, pit - smoke



Robert Richardson made only one start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2011. Richardson finished 38th getting caught up in a wreck after starting 28th.

2011 Statistics For Robert Richardson
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 38th in the Daytona 500
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Robert Richardson
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end


Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Tony Raines made 12 starts for Larry Gunselman's number 37 team in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series in 2011 while he missed the field an additional seven times. Raines' best finish of the year was 25th in the Daytona 500 and the Goody's Fast Relief 500.

2011 Statistics For Tony Raines
37th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 25th in the Daytona 500 and the Goody's Fast Relief 400
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Tony Raines
Race 7 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end


Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

Young up and comer, Cole Whitt made two starts in the final two Sprint Cup events of the year driving for Red Bull Racing. Whitt's best finish came in his debut race at Phoenix in the Kobalt Tools 500 where he placed 25th.

2011 Statistics For Cole Whitt
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 25th in the Kobalt Tools 500
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Cole Whitt
Race 35 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end


Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR Nationwide regular, Steve Wallace made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut in the season opener, the Daytona 500. Wallace finished 20th in the Great American Race after starting in 36th position

2011 Statistics For Steve Wallace
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 20th in the Daytona 500
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Steve Wallace
Race 1 - Jumping the restart, pass thru

2011 Year In Review: Joe Nemechek's Penalties

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

2011 had to be considered a success for long-time NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor, driver/owner, Joe Nemechek. In spite of having a season best finish of only 30th, Nemechek was able to start all 36 events in 2011 albeit in the role of a start and park driver. Only twice in 2011 did Nemechek attempt to run the full race distance. That happened in back to back races at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Nemechek used his Cup team to support his full-time operation in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Despite not starting four events, the 2011 season was far more fruitful in that series as Nemechek finished 14th in the standings with one top five, three top 10s and a best finish of third.

Being a start and park driver in the Cup Series almost made certain that Nemechek would go penalty-free in 2011. Nemechek did in fact go through the year without a penalty while his crew was penalized once in the Jeff Byrd 500 at Bristol due to breaking NASCAR's rule for fueling the race car before the competition caution.

2011 Statistics For Joe Nemechek
Was Not Eligible For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 30th in the Coke Zero 400
4 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Joe Nemechek
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 4 - Refueling car/truck before the affected car/truck receives the green flag on the race track or does not complete the designated race distance (competition yellow), Held 1 Lap
Race 17 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Carl Edwards' Penalties

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Carl Edwards came so close to winning the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup. As close as any driver could come to winning it. For now and perhaps forever, Edwards will be recognized as the driver who came the closest to winning the Sprint Cup. Certainly there is no dishonor in finishing second, especially when the guy who beat you was Tony Stewart, but Carl Edwards would likely be the first to tell you second place is nothing like first place.

Edwards scored just one win in 2011, surprising given how strong he ran all year long, particularly in the final 10 races. Edwards and his Aflac Ford race team scored their only victory of the year in the third race of the year at Las Vegas in the Kobalt Tools 400. Despite having one win in 2011, Edwards posted mind boggling stats. The Roush Racing driver posted 19 top 5s and 26 top 10s, had an average starting spot of 9.4 and an average finish of 9.3. Edwards' worst finish in the Chase was 11th and he rounded out the season with three straight second place finishes. In almost any other year, Edwards would have won the Sprint Cup handily. 2011 just wasn't his year.

Edwards and his crew only had one penalty all year long but it proved to be a major factor in determining who would be 2011 Sprint Cup champion. Edwards was dominant in the AAA 400 until he was caught speeding in the pits by NASCAR under green flag conditions at the race's halfway point. Edwards had to serve a drive through penalty under green, costing him major track position. While Edwards was able to recover and finish third, it's very possible that he would have won the race had he not lost valuable track position due to the penalty. If Edwards had even placed second in the event, it would have been enough for him to take the 2011 title.

2011 Statistics For Carl Edwards
Second in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Kobalt Tools 400)
19 top 5s
26 top 10s
903 laps led

Penalty Report For Carl Edwards
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 20 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 29 - Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru

2011 Year In Review: Tony Stewart's Penalties

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

What is there to say that hasn't already been said about Tony Stewart and his 2011 run for NASCAR's Sprint Cup? There aren't any words that can properly put in perspective Stewart and his Office Depot/Mobile 1 Chevrolet team. Amazing falls short. Astonishing is the very least that can be said about it.

Stewart did not looks like a contender to even make the Chase for much of the season. In fact, it looked like Stewart was going to have the worst season of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career and go without a win in 2011. Not that he and his Stewart-Haas team didn't have their chances. Stewart was dominant in the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas but a late race miscue by his pit crew took him out of the lead. Even so, Stewart fought back to finish second in the event. Stewart's other best chance at winning came in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, but he was outbid by his teammate and employee, Ryan Newman. A last lap mistake at Watkins Glen and a bad night at Bristol put Stewart on the teetering point of making the Chase For The Sprint Cup but fortunately the 14 car came through with a third at Atlanta and a seventh at Richmond to solidify their place in the Chase.

Once the Chase started, Stewart and his team were on their game with victories at Chicagoland and New Hampshire. A 25th place run at Dover and a 15th at Kansas looked to set Stewart back from winning the 2011 title. However, Stewart went on a tear in the final six races starting off with an eighth at Charlotte and seventh at Talladega. Stewart beat out Jimmie Johnson to win a thrilling event at Martinsville then went to Texas and won again. Stewart finished a solid third in the Kobalt Tools 500 on the newly reconfigured Phoenix mile. The final event in Homestead was as thrilling an event as any in NASCAR history. Stewart ended up beating his title rival, Carl Edwards for the race victory. While Stewart and Edwards were tied in the standings, Stewart won the tiebreaker thanks to the five victories in the Chase compared to Edwards lone victory occurring early in the year.

Stewart was penalized four times by NASCAR in 2011, twice for speeding in the pits, once for a commitment line violation and another for passing on a restart. His pit crew only had one penalty for equipment out of their pit box. Of note was that Stewart was not penalized all year long for entering the pits before they were open. This serves as evidence that while Stewart was up and down all year long prior to the Chase, he was able to avoid getting involved in wrecks. That would cost him valuable track position along with points.

2011 Statistics For Tony Stewart
Sprint Cup Champion
5 wins (Geico 400, Sylvania 300, Tums Fast Relief 500, AAA Texas 500, Ford 400)
9 top 5s
19 top 10s
913 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Tony Stewart
Race 3 - Removing equipment from assigned pit area, stop and go/tail end
Race 6 - Passing on a start or restart, Pass Thru
Race 7 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru
Race 11 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 20 - Commitment Line Violation, pass thru

2011 Year In Review: Michael McDowell's Penalties

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

It was a long 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season for Michael McDowell. Driving for Phil Parsons' HP Racing team, McDowell filled the role as a start and park driver. It would be hard for any driver to have any highlights of a season when they only attempted to run full distance three times and the same was true for McDowell.

The best parts of McDowell's season came in the five events he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. McDowell came close to winning the Elkhart Lake event but came up short. His best finish of the five events came at Montreal where he placed third. On the Cup side of things, only twice did McDowell and the HP Racing team attempt to run the full distance. The first came at Martinsville in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 where the 66 car finished 32nd. The second ended up being McDowell's best finish in 2011, a 30th at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Kyle Busch's problems in the November race at Texas ended up being of benefit to McDowell as he was able to pilot the #18 M&M's Toyota in the race. Unfortunately the lack of seat time to get acclimated to the car and team showed as McDowell finished 33rd in the event.

Being a start and park driver helped McDowell and his pit crew avoid getting in-race penalties from NASCAR. Even so McDowell did notch two penalties in the Watkins Glen race, one for speeding in the pits and the other for a safety violation. The 66 crew avoided penalty in 2011.

2011 Statistics For Michael McDowell
36th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 30th in the Toyota/Save Mart 350

2011 Penalty Report For Michael McDowell
Race 16 - Pre-Race to the rear [driver change], tail end
Race 22 - Pre-Race to the rear, missing driver introductions; Speed-Exiting pits, pass thru; Safety violation, pit
Race 34 - Pre-Race to the rear (Driver Change), Tail of Field

2011 Year In Review: Mike Skinner's Penalties

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

For 1995 Craftsman Truck Series champion, Mike Skinner, 2011 was not the kind of year he probably had hoped. For most of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Skinner found himself playing the role of a start and park driver for Germain Racing's number 60 car. Skinner started 21 of the 36 events in 2011, missing out on nine other events he attempted to start. Skinner notched his best finish in his first race of the year at Phoenix driving for Frankie Stoddard's 32 Ford team with a 24th place effort. Counting the early season events at Phoenix and Las Vegas, Skinner only attempted to run the full distance in three events. The third came as a fill-in for Dave Blaney who fell ill prior to the start of the Advocare 500 at Atlanta.

Neither Skinner or the pit crews he drove for in 2011 faced penalties from NASCAR thanks to being in the start and park role. Skinner's penalties came in the form of having to start at the rear of two events, the afore mentioned event at Atlanta and at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600 due to having to go to a backup car for the race. In addition, Skinner was penalzied three times for entering the pits when they were closed.

2011 Statistics For Mike Skinner
Was Not Eligable For Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 24th in the Subway Fresh Fit 500
3 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Mike Skinner
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 12 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field Back-Up
Race 17 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 25 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field Driver Change
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage

2011 Year In Review: Geoffrey Bodine's Penalties

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

2011 proved to be a return of sorts for Chemung, New York's Geoffrey Bodine to NASCAR's premiere series, the Sprint Cup Series. While Bodine had started one event in 2010, he had not raced for six years prior in 2004. The 1985 Daytona 500 winner attempted to start eight races in 2011 for Tommy Baldwin's team, qualifying for four of them.

Bodine was able to qualify for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July driving a second car for Baldwin. Unfortunately, his next four attempts to qualify the 35 were futile as Bodine did not make those races. With his 36 car firmly in the top 35 in points, Baldwin moved Bodine to that car and moved his regular driver, Dave Blaney to the 35. It proved beneficial to the team as Blaney had no problems qualifying the 35 while Bodine was able to make the final three events of the season thanks to the top 35 rule. Bodine's best finish of the year came in the final event of the season at Homestead in the Ford 400.

Bodine showed signs of rust when it came to maintaining pit road speed. Of his four starts, Bodine was caught speeding in two. Baldwin's pit crew had no problems as they were not penalized in Bodine's four events in 2011.

2011 Statistics For Geoffrey Bodine
44th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 30th in the Ford 400
0 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Geoffrey Bodine
Race 17 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 34 - Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru; Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 35 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end, garage

2011 Year In Review: Mark Martin's Penalties

Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

2011 brought winds of change for the most experienced full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Mark Martin. Who would have guessed that Martin would have his worst season of his entire career while driving for Hendrick Motorsports, one of the very best teams in all of NASCAR.

Martin had a career low of only two top five finishes in 2011, the first coming at Dover in the FedEx 400 with a second and the other coming at Michigan in the Pure Michigan 400 with a fourth. Martin scored 10 top 10 finishes in 2011, the lowest amount since 2003. The previous time Martin had less than 11 top 10 finishes prior to 2003 was in his first season with Roush Racing in 1988. The highlights of Martin's season came in qualifying at Daytona in July and Talladega in October when his GoDaddy.com car took pole position in both races.

Even though 2011 was a tough year for Martin and the 5 crew, they were able to avoid getting penalized by NASCAR for most of the year. Martin was penalized a single time for passing on a restart. His crew did not receive any penalties at all all year long.

2011 Statistics For Mark Martin
22nd in Sprint Cup standings
2 top 5s
10 top 10s
Best Finish: 2nd in the FedEx 400
75 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Mark Martin
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 6 - Passing on a start or restart, Pass Thru
Race 9 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 12 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 19 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field

2011 Year In Review: Ryan Newman's Penalties

Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

2011 proved to be a fairly steady season for Ryan Newman and his U.S. Army Chevrolet team. After missing NASCAR's Chase For The Sprint Cup the previous season and finishing 15th in the final standings, Newman was hoping for a much better results in 2011.

Newman more than doubled his top five count from 2010 as he had nine in 2011. In addition, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver had three more top 10 finishes as he scored a total of 17. Unfortunately, Newman was unable to better his win total in 2011 as he again scored a lone victory at New Hampshire in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. While Newman made the Chase this season, his hopes for winning NASCAR's Sprint Cup went out the window early. Newman opened the final 10 events with an eighth at Chicagoland but was knocked out with finishes of 25th at New Hampshire, 23rd at Dover and 18th at Kansas. Newman was able to pull himself out from 12th in the standings in the final two races to finish ninth in points.

The driver of the 39 and his crew had a great season when it came to abiding by NASCAR's pit road policies. Nearly all of the penalties that were assessed to Newman and his team were due to having to pit before the pits were open due to on-track incidents that damaged their car. Newman avoided getting a penalty from NASCAR in 2011 while his pit crew made one lone mistake late in the season when their driver had to return to the pits for loose lug nuts.

2011 Statistics For Ryan Newman
10th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Lenox Industrial Tools 301)
9 top 5s
17 top 10s
403 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Ryan Newman
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 6 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 12 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 16 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 30 - Lug nut(s) not installed, Must come in

2011 Year In Review: Ken Schrader's Penalties

After starting only one event in 2010, Ken Schrader returned to NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series seven times in 2011. All of Schrader's starts were for Frank Stoddard's team early in the season. After missing the fourth race of the season at Bristol, Schrader qualified in the seven other events he attempted during the year.

Schrader's two best finishes on the circuit came at the half mile paperclip in Martinsville, Virginia. Schrader finished 22nd in the Spring event while scoring his season best of 21st in the second race in he Fall. Schrader's other five finishes in 2011 were 33rd in the Auto Club 400, 33rd in the Samsung Mobile 500, 32nd in the Crown Royal Presents the Matthew And Daniel Hansen 400, 28th in the Showtime Southern 500 and 30th in the Pure Michigan 400.

Schrader and Stoddard's pit crew were each penalized once for violating NASCAR's pit procedures. Schrader earned a penalty for speeding exiting pit road while the crew earned their penalty for equipment leaving their pit area.

2011 Statistics For Ken Schrader
38th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 21st in the Tums Fast Relief 500

2011 Penalty Report For Ken Schrader
Race 5 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end; Speed-Entering pits, pass thru
Race 7 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 10 - Removing equipment from assigned pit area, Tail of Field
Race 23 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Transmission

2011 Year In Review: Kevin Harvick's Penalties

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Kevin Harvick's 2010 season was as good as any in the history of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. Harvick and his Richard Childress Racing team averaged an astonishing 8.7 average finish in 2010 and a mind blowing 5.8 average finish in the final 10 events, yet all these numbers weren't good enough to win the title. Harvick finished third in points, 41 behind champion, Jimmie Johnson and two behind Denny Hamlin.

It would be almost impossible for the greatest driver and team combination to replicate those numbers two years in a row. Such was the case for the Budweiser Chevrolet race team. Even though the numbers were down, 9 top 5s and 19 top 10s compared to 2010 when he had 16 top 5s and 29 top 10s, Harvick improved his win total from three to four. Twice in 2010, Harvick dashed the hopes of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Junior Nation. The first happened in Martinsville in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 when Harvick passed Earnhardt with three laps to go. The second happened on the final lap of the final turn of the Coca-Cola 600. Harvick's two other victories happened at Auto Club Speedway in the Auto Club 400 and at Richmond in the Wonderful Pistachios 400. In the end, Harvick finished in the same place as he had in 2010, third.

You don't finish third in points if you constantly make mistakes in pit road. Such was the case for Harvick and his pit crew. Harvick was caught speeding in the pits only once in 2011. His other black flag from NASCAR came due to having smoke coming from his car. The 29 crew was only penalized one time for loose lug nuts.

2011 Statistics For Kevin Harvick
3rd in Sprint Cup standings
4 wins (Auto Club 400, Goody's Fast Relief 500, Coca-Cola 600, Wonderful Pistachios 400)
9 top 5s
19 top 10s
403 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Kevin Harvick
Race 3 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 23 - Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Safety violation, pit, light smoke

2011 Year In Review: Clint Bowyer's Penalties

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For Clint Bowyer, 2011 will be remembered as the final year he drove for the man who gave him his big break in NASCAR, Richard Childress. Bowyer and his Cheerios Chevy team were contenders in many events in 2010 but often fell victim to mistakes or getting caught up in incidents not of their own doing.

Bowyer's season started off slow, but after the fifth race of the year at Auto Club Speedway, he and his team began to knock off solid finishes. On through to the halfway point of the season, it looked as though the 33 car would be one of the 12 to make NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup. Unfortunately, the season fell apart through the summer as he dropped from eighth in the standings going into the July event at Daytona to 14th by the time the Chase field was set at Richmond. In the final 10 events, Bowyer's season perked up. Along with finishes of seventh, eighth, seventh, ninth, 10th and sixth, Bowyer won his only event of the season at Talladega.

Bowyer went all the way to the 33rd race of the year before he received a penalty from NASCAR for speeding in the pits. The 33 crew did not receive a penalty all year long.

2011 Statistics For Clint Bowyer
13th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Good Sam Club 500)
4 top 5s
16 top 10s
345 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Clint Bowyer
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 4 - Pitting before pit road is open
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 18 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 31 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field - Back Up
Race 33 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field

2011 Year In Review: Jeff Burton's Penalties

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Jeff Burton was looking for bigger and better things for the 2011 Sprint Cup season. The year before, Burton and his Caterpillar Chevrolet race team made the Chase for NASCAR's Sprint Cup only to not be a serious factor for the title and ending up 12th in the standings. Unfortunately for the Richard Childress Racing driver, 2010 was a dream season compared to the nightmare that was 2011.

Looking on Burton's finishes in 2011, it's shocking to see just how bad his year was. In the first 20 events, Burton's best finish was 11th on two occasions at Texas in the Samsung Mobile 500 and at Dover in the FedEx 400. Burton would not score his first top 10 finish until the 22nd stop on the calender at Watkins Glen where he placed ninth. Fortunately for the South Boston, Virginia driver, things seemed to be turning around in the final 10 events. Burton finished a close second to his now former teammate, Clint Bowyer at Talladega in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, his best finish in 2011. Burton followed that up with finishes of sixth in the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, fourth in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix and 10th in the season ending Ford 400 at Homestead.

Burton and his crew were very efficient in the pits despite the terrible season. Burton only received two penalties for breaking NASCAR's pit road speed limit while another black flag came due to loose sheet metal. The 31 pit crew only made one penalty earning error by having too many crew members over the wall on one occasion.

2011 Statistics For Jeff Burton
20th in Sprint Cup standings
2 top 5s
5 top 10s
Best Finish: 2nd in the Good Sam Club 500
94 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Jeff Burton
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 3 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 5 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru
Race 15 - Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Safety violation, pit, sheet metal loose; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Matt Kenseth's Penalties

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2011 proved to be another typical season for Matt Kenseth. The quiet veteran from Cambridge, Wisconsin native did what he always does year after year in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series; knock off good finishes, win races and maintaining a consistent pace all year long. Although Kenseth and his Crown Royal Ford team came up short in the championship, the year would have to be considered a success especially when compared to 2010 when the #17 car was shut out of victory circle.

Things started off slow for the Roush Racing driver but by the fourth race of the season, Kenseth was in form earning finishes of fourth, fourth, sixth and a victory at Texas in the Samsung Mobile 500. After a rough three race stretch, Kenseth and his team took the victory at Dover in the FedEx 400 and set off into the summer with numerous top five and top 10 finishes.

Kenseth and his team easily locked themselves in the Chase and were considered serious competition to win the 2011 crown. The first Chase race at Chicago proved to be bad for the team but they came back strong with sixth, fifth, fourth place finishes before getting another win at Charlotte in the Bank Of America 500. A not so great finish did not take Kenseth out of the hunt for the title, but an incident between he and Brian Vickers at Martinsville and two weeks later at Phoenix sealed the team's fate. Even so, the team finished a fine fourth in the final standings.

Kenseth and his crew were able to avoid penalties from NASCAR for most of 2011. Kenseth only had two penalties all year, one for speeding and another one for a commitment line violation while his crew did not receive a penalty from NASCAR all year long. In fact, most of Kenseth's penalties came from having to pit before the pits were open due to damage on his car.

2011 Statistics For Matt Kenseth
4th in Sprint Cup standings
3 wins (Samsung Mobile 500, FedEx 400, Bank Of America 500)
12 top 5s
20 top 10s
875 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Matt Kenseth
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 6 - Passing on a start or restart, Pass Thru
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 9 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 10 - Commitment Line Violation, Pass Thru
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 35 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end, garage

2011 Year In Review: A.J. Allmendinger's Penalties

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

A.J. Allmendinger took a major step forward in 2011, establishing himself as a more competitive driver in NASCAR's Sprint Cup season. Despite being winless and not making NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup, Allmendinger and his Best Buy Ford race team had several impressive runs throughout the year. When the season completed in the final event in the Ford 400 at Homestead, Allmendinger had the best season of his five year Sprint Cup career.

Allmendinger started off the year with a string of consistant top 15 finishes including ninth at Phoenix and seventh at Richmond. The best run for the Richard Petty Motorsports team came in the longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600. Allmendinger came through with what proved to be his only top five of the year, a fifth place finish. The rest of the season was similar to the first 10 events on the schedule as Allmendinger had occasional poor finishes, occasional good finishes, but mostly finishes in the top 15. Though he did not make the Chase, Allmendinger ran well in the final 10 races notching finishes of seventh at Dover, seventh at Charlotte, 10th at Texas and sixth at Phoenix.

Allmendinger and his Best Buy race team did a good job in the pits for the year. Allmendinger was blackflagged twice for speeding in the pits and once for going above the blend line. The pit crew survived 2011 completely unscathed penalty wise.

2011 Statistics For A. J. Allmendinger
15th in Sprint Cup standings
1 top 5
10 top 10s
Best Finish: 5th in the Coca-Cola 600
51 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For A.J. Allmendinger
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 3 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 30 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Missed Driver Intros; Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Going above the blend line exiting the pits, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Brad Keselowski's Penalties

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It didn't look like Brad Keselowski was going to have a good 2011 season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup season. In the first nine races on the schedule, the Miller Lite Dodge driver's best finish was a paltry 15th place effort in the second race of the year at Phoenix. When the schedule rolled around to the 13th race of the season at Kansas, there was a huge change. It was like someone flipped a switch. All of a sudden, both of Penske Racing's cars were not only fast but they were competitive. Keselowski used some savvy strategy to stretch his fuel mileage in the race to take his second career victory in the Cup series.

Keslowski seemed to really get going when the going got tough. After a testing accident where he injured his knee, Keselowski went on a tear; ninth at Indianapolis, a win at Pocono, second at Watkins Glen, third at Michigan, first again at Bristol and sixth at Atlanta. The driver and team who looked to be completely out of the running of getting into NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup took advantage of NASCAR's Wild Card rule and not only locked themselves in, but now were a serious threat for the Cup. Keselowski and his team stayed in the fight until the final four events where things seemed to unravel with finishes of 17th, 24th, 18th and 20th. Still, the season had to be considered a huge success just due to the fact of the incredible run from outside the top 20 by the Miller Lite Dodge team.

Had it not been for the fourth event of the season at Bristol, Keselowski would have went through 2011 without a penalty. Unfortunately, Keselowski earned four in that race, two for speeding and two for pitting out of order. The 2 team got through the year scot-free of any penalties.

2011 Statistics For Brad Keselowski
5th in Sprint Cup standings
3 wins (STP 400, Good Sam RV Insurance 500, Irwin Tools Night Race)
10 top 5s
14 top 10s
298 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Brad Keselowski
Race 4 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Pitting out of order, Tail of Field; Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 15 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 19 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage

2011 Year In Review: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Penalties

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2011 was a comeback year of sorts for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The 9-time reigning Most Popular Driver in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series hadn't gone anywhere, he just hadn't been finishing races in the top 10 very much in the previous two seasons. Prior to the start of the year, Earnhardt's team owner, Rick Hendrick switched crew chiefs and teams between Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Earnhardt ended up being paired with the ever optimistic, Steve Letarte. Earnhardt's immense fan base, known as the Junior Nation hoped that this would be what he needed to get back where he belonged.

2011 started off much like Earnhardt's previous two years had gone. While he qualified on the pole for the Daytona 500, his car was wrecked in a pre-race practice forcing him to use a backup car and start at the rear of the field. Earnhardt was a contender for the win, but a cut tire forced him to pit and a subsequent wreck was a page out of 2009-2010 all over again. However, things would get better.

Earnhardt ran off a string of solid finishes before the sixth event at Martinsville. Earnhardt got by Kyle Busch late in the going and looked poised to end his long win less drought. Unfortunately, the handle on his car went away and Earnhardt lost the lead and the race with only three laps to go. Losing Martinsville was heart breaking but it wouldn't compare to what happened at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600. Steve Letarte rolled the dice on fuel and Earnhardt was in position to take a win in one of NASCAR's most prestigious races. A caution from oil due to his teammate, Jimmie Johnson's failed engine added a handful of laps to the event. Even so, Earnhardt got a great jump on the last restart and had a comfortable lead on the last lap. Unfortunately, his tank ran dry going down the back stretch allowing Harvick to pass by and dropping Earnhardt to seventh.

One of the goals for the 88 team was to make the Chase, which they did after struggling through the summer months, getting caught up in incidents not of their own doing. Earnhardt ran steady in the Chase, just as he did for most of the season. In the end, Earnhardt finished a solid seventh, higher than many so called experts predicted. While the top 10 points finish was great, Earnhardt did finish the season win less and didn't seem to have the speed of the title contenders as he led only 52 laps all year long, a career low since he started in the Cup Series full time.

Earnhardt made a few mistakes while pitting early on in the year. Earnhardt was caught speeding twice by NASCAR in the first 10 events while he violated the commitment line in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington. After that, the driver was error-free. His Hendrick Motorsports pit crew only made one mistake that brought a penalty in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 where they lost contact with equipment.

2011 Statistics For Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
7th in Sprint Cup standings
4 top 5s
12 top 10s
Best Finish: 2nd (Goody's Fast Relief 500, STP 400)
52 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Race 1 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end, backup car
Race 2 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail End of Longest Line
Race 4 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
Race 10 - Commitment Line Violation, Pass Thru
Race 15 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 19 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, Tail of Field
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field

2011 Year In Review: Denny Hamlin's Penalties

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After narrowly losing the 2010 Sprint Cup to Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin looked poised as the favorite to unseat the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion from his throne. Unfortunately, 2011 proved to be a nightmare season for Hamlin and his FedEx Toyota team as the 11 car did not run anything like it did in 2010.

The start of the year ended up being a reflection as to how Hamlin's season would go. While he scored finishes of seventh, second and sixth in the first 10 events in 2011, he also had finishes of 21st, 33rd, 39th and 23rd. Things seemed to pick up for the Joe Gibbs Racing team in the early goings of the summer as Hamlin won the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan. Unfortunately, that would be Hamlin's only win of the year. The victory proved important though as it helped Hamlin secure a spot in the 2011 Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup. The final 10 races went on as the majority of the season did with one top five and four top 10s offset by finishes of 31st, 29th, 18th, 16th and 20th.

Of the three Joe Gibbs Racing teams, Hamlin's seemed to be plagued the worst with engine problems. Three times in 2011, Hamlin was forced to start at the rear due to having to change an engine before the race. Despite the rough year, Hamlin only had one penalty for speeding in the pits while his FedEx pit crew went through the year unscathed without a single penalty.

2011 Statistics For Denny Hamlin
9th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400)
5 top 5s
14 top 10s
450 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Denny Hamlin
Race 3 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
Race 4 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 11 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end
Race 18 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
Race 20 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Terry Labonte's Penalties

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1984 and 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup champion, Terry Labonte was an infrequent competitor in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series in 2011. Of the 36 events on the schedule, Labonte started in only eight races. Labonte started seven events for Frank Stoddard's small team while his eighth start was in Front Row Motorsports #38 at Watkins Glen. "Texas" Terry's best finish of the season was in the Great American Race, the Daytona 500 with a 15th place effort. Labonte finished 34th in his effort with FRM due to transmission problems.

Even though Labonte only started eight events in 2011, he saw penalties from NASCAR in six of the eight races. Labonte proved to be a victim of wrecks in these races as he had to pit prior to pit road being open eight times. Labonte was caught speeding in the pits by NASCAR twice and two additional penalties for a commitment line violation and for smoking on the track in the Watkins Glen race. Stoddard and FRM's crews did their job the times Labonte raced for them as they were not penalized a single time.

2011 Statistics For Terry Labonte
39th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 15th in the Daytona 500
2 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Terry Labonte
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Speed-Entering pits, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 8 - Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru
Race 16 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 17 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 22 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Safety violation, pit - smoke
Race 24 - Commitment Line Violation, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Kasey Kahne's Penalties

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It was hard to put expectations on how Kasey Kahne's season would go in 2011. The Enumclaw, Washington driver was in a lame-duck role as driver for Red Bull racing. The 2011 Sprint Cup season would be his one and only year racing for the Toyota team as Kahne was already set up to race for Hendrick Motorsports in 2012.

Kahne was strong in many events in 2011 but all too often, Kahne would find misfortune derailing good runs and potential strong finishes. Five top 10 finishes in the first 10 races were offset by finishes of 25th, 29th, 21st and 37th. Chances of making the Chase For The Sprint Cup were derailed in the races leading to the cutoff point with finishes of 28th, 26th, 34th and 38th. Once the Chase started, all the pressure seemed to be off the #4 Red Bull team. In the final 10 events, Kahne scored finishes of fourth, second, fourth, sixth and third. In the 35th event in Phoenix, Kahne brought the team it's only victory in 2011 and likely its final one as the team was pulling out of NASCAR at the end of the year. Kahne finished 2011 with a seventh place run at Homestead.

A sign that Kahne was a victim of bad racing lunk shows through the penalties he received for having to pit before the pits were open. In all, Kahne had to pit early six times while a seventh was a mistake on Kahne's part as he had no damage. Kahne's only other mistakes were for speeding in the pits as he did that on two occasions in 2011. Kahne's Red Bull team did their job, not having any penalties during the season.

2011 Statistics For Kasey Kahne
14th in Sprint Cup Standings
1 win (Kobalt Tools 500)
8 top 5s
15 top 10s
340 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Kasey Kahne
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 3 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 12 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 27 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 31 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 36 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Mike Bliss' Penalties

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Mike Bliss was focused on running full-time in NASCAR's Nationwide Series for 2011, without any expectations of running in NASCAR's premiere division, the Sprint Cup season. Plans changed after the 10th event of the year at Darlington as Bliss was called in to drive for Frank Stoddard's fledgling team.

Bliss started 18 Sprint Cup events in 2011, exactly half of the races on the series' docket. Bliss' first priority was to drive Mark Smith's #19 Nationwide car and Bliss did not drive Stoddard's #32 Ford in Sprint Cup races that conflicted with Nationwide races. Bliss' best finish driving the 32 car was 25th on two occasions, at Dover in the FedEx 400 and Chicagoland in the Geico 400. Bliss' best finish of 21st came in the season finale at Homestead in his only race of the season driving Kevin Buckler's TRG Motorsports Ford.

Bliss was black flagged four times in 2011 by NASCAR for speeding in pit road. He also received a penalty for a commitment line violation in the Brickyard 400. The 32 crew did a great job the times Bliss drove for them as they did not receive a penalty all year long.

2011 Statistics For Mike Bliss
Was Not Eligible To Score Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 21st in the Ford 400
3 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Mike Bliss
Race 14 - Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru
Race 18 - Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru
Race 19 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 20 - Commitment Line Violation, pass thru; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 31 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field - Transmission
Race 36 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru/tail end

2011 Year In Review: Jeff Gordon's Penalties

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There was a lot of excitement and expectation for all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers and teams, Jeff Gordon included. Many experts believed that Gordon would return to his "old form" in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season mainly due to his new crew chief, Alan Gustafson. There were times this year where Gordon did indeed look like the Gordon of old, but the expectations that were built for a serious title run ended up not coming to fruition.

Gordon didn't wait long to get his first win in 2011. Gordon fought and beat Kyle Busch to win the second race of the year at Phoenix. While Gordon did notch two other top fives in the first 10 events at Martinsville and Talladega, he also had several bad and mediocre finishes as well such as 28th at Daytona, 36th at Las Vegas and 39th at Richmond. As the season progressed, Gordon began warming up and his finishes became more consistent.

Gordon got his second win of the year at Pocono and as the Chase for NASCAR's Sprint Cup came closer, Gordon became more and more of a favorite to win the 2011 crown. Gordon notched another victory at Atlanta and when the field for the Chase was set, many felt that Gordon was the man to beat. Unfortunately for Gordon and his Drive To End Hunger/Dupont team, the Chase was over before it got started. Gordon had a bad 24th place finish, running out of fuel in the closing laps at Chicagoland. A fourth at Loudon gave hope that the team would be able to overcome the early hindrance but four bad finishes in the row knocked the team out of the title hunt.

Gordon and his #24 team did an excellent job all season long adhering to NASCAR's rules for pit road. Gordon was caught speeding three times in 2011, one of those coming when he ran out of fuel and could not judge his tachometer speed. The pit crew was on their game all year only having one penalty for a loose tire.

2011 Statistics For Jeff Gordon
8th in Sprint Cup standings
3 wins (Subway Fresh Fit 500, 5-Hour Energy 500, AdvoCare 500)
13 top 5s
18 top 10s
922 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Jeff Gordon
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 3 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 7 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru
Race 27 - Speed-Entering pits, Happened at end of race- 1 lap was taken away
Race 31 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 35 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Marcos Ambrose's Penalties

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Looking back on the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, it's hard to tell whether or not the year could be regarded as a success or a failure for Australian Marcos Ambrose and his Stanley Tools Ford team. Was it a success since Ambrose won his first career Sprint Cup event? Was it a failure because the #9 Richard Petty Motorsports team were inconsistent all throughout the year? In truth, 2011 for Ambrose and his team was a bit of both.

The first 10 races in 2011 gave hint as to how the year would go for Ambrose. While Ambrose scored a fourth at Las Vegas and a 6th at Texas, he also finished 37th at Daytona, 28th at Fontana, 29th at Martinsville, 32nd at Talladega and 23rd at Richmond. Things appeared to get on the right track with finishes of third and sixth at Dover and Charlotte until the bad finish bugaboo returned in the next three races at Kansas, Pocono and Michigan. Ambrose scored another top five in Sonoma and a ninth at Loudon. The highlight of the year was almost certainly the long awaited breakthrough win for Ambrose at historic Watkins Glen International. Ambrose finished 10th in the night race at Bristol and showed strength in the Chase races finishing ninth at Dover and Kansas, fifth at Charlotte and eighth at Phoenix.

As far as penalties went for 2011, Ambrose was penalized only three times all year long. Ambrose earned black flag penalties from NASCAR for pitting out of order, speeding in the pits and for jumping the restart. The Stanley Tools team did a fantastic job for the year, coming through without a single penalty.

2011 Statistics For Marcos Ambrose
19th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen)
5 top 5s
12 top 10s
49 laps led

2011 Penalty Report for Marcos Ambrose
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 6 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 12 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 20 - Jumping the restart, pass thru, changing lanes before start finish
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: J.J. Yeley's Penalties

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Nothing was constant for J.J. Yeley in 2011. Yeley found himself in three different rides between 2 different organizations during the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The lack of consistancy and full-finding for his rides made for a long season with very few positives occurring.

Yeley started the year driving Dusty Whitney's #46 car in what was a start and park effort. Yeley started 16 of the first 17 races in 2011 with a best finish of 37th in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix. Yeley jumped over to Bob Jenkins' #38 ride at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 and scored what was at the time a season best 23rd place finish. From that race until the season closer in Homestead, Yeley jumped between Jenkins' 38 car and the 55 car running full events in the former and start and park efforts in the latter. Yeley's best finish of the year came at Charlotte in the Bank Of America 500, a 22nd place effort.

Yeley was blackflagged by NASCAR six times in the 2011 season, four of those infractions coming in AAA 400 at Dover. In the events Yeley did attempt to run the full distance, his crew failed him only once in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega.

2011 Statistics For J.J. Yeley
35th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 22nd in the Bank Of American 500
24 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For J.J. Yeley
Race 5 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end
Race 8 - Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon, Tail of Field; Disobeying a NASCAR request, Pass Thru
Race 9 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Engine
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 27 - Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 29 - Running the stop and go sign/light, Tail of Field; Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Commitment Line Violation, Pass Thru; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field

2011 Year In Review: Martin Truex, Jr.'s Penalties

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Martin Truex, Jr. was looking for a bigger and better season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. While 2011 was better than 2010, Truex and his Napa Toyota team went through the season like a yo-yo. One week the 56 car would be a front running contender. The next race they would be out to lunch. The next race they would be fast again but have something go wrong during the event, costing them a chance at a good finish.

In his second full season driving for Michael Waltrip Racing, Truex and his team got warning of how 2011 would go for them in the first 10 races. Truex had two top 10 finishes at Phoenix and Darlington but also had finishes of 40th 35th and 27th at Martinsville, Texas and Richmond. Truex's next three top 10 finishes were all in eighth place at Dover, Sonoma and New Hampshire. Truex had a steller run at Watkins Glen. Two races later at Bristol, Truex came up just short to Brad Keselowski for the win. Truex would score three top 10s in the final four races with an eighth at Martinsville, eighth at Texas and a strong third in the season finale at Homestead.

Truex did his job when it came to working the pits as he was only penalized twice by NASCAR for speeding infractions. His Napa crew on the other hand was a bit more sloppy on the season, earning four penalties in 2011, two for loose lug nuts and two for having too many crew members over the wall.

2011 Statistics For Martin Truex, Jr.
18th in Sprint Cup standings
3 top 5s
12 top 10s
Best Finish: 2nd Irwin Tools Night Race
153 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Martin Truex, Jr.
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, Tail of the field
Race 9 - Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In; Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru
Race 12 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, Tail of Field
Race 15 - Lug nut(s) not installed, pit
Race 20 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Transmission
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Speed-Exiting pits, pass thru/tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Jamie McMurray's Penalties

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Coming off a spectacular 2010 season where he and his team won three races including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, Jamie McMurray seemed like a certain pick to make the field for NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup. Unfortunately for McMurray and his Bass Pro Shops, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team, 2011 proved to be a nightmare year where McMurray was not competitive to even finish in the top 10 in most races.

Indications as to how the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season would go for the one team came early on in the season. McMurray was unable to score a finish better than 20th until the sixth event at Martinsville where McMurray won the pole and ended the day in seventh position. After a string of three events where McMurray finished no better than 19th, he scored his second top 10 of the year with a ninth place run at Darlington in the Showtime Southern 500. The bright spot of the season for the EGR team came at Indianapolis where McMurray finished a season best fourth in the race he won the previous season. McMurray's final top 5 and top 10 of the year came four races later at Bristol with a fifth place effort.

McMurray was penalized five times in 2011 for pitting before the pits were open, a sign that his poor finishes on the year had more to do with the handling of the race car rather than getting swept up in on track incidents. McMurray did a good job most of the season when it came to not breaking the pit road speed rules as he earned only two penalties all year long. In addition, he was penalized once for pitting out of order. The Bass Pro Shops team did their job in the pits for most of the year too, only receiving two penalties in 2011, one for loose lug nuts and the other for letting equipment get loose from their pit box.

2011 Statistics For Jamie McMurray
27th in Sprint Cup standings
2 top 5s
4 top 10s
Best Finish: 4th in the Brickyard 400
106 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Jamie McMurray
Race 4 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 6 - Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In
Race 7 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 12 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 13 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, pass thru
Race 27 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 28 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 35 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Regan Smith's Penalties

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2011 will be a year that Regan Smith will never forget for the rest of his life. The 27 year old Cato, New York driver accomplished so many amazing things with his sponsor-less Furniture Row Racing team. Quite often in the 2011 Sprint Cup season, Smith's black 78 car was outperforming teams with multimillion dollar sponsorships. On Mother's Day weekend at Darlington, Smith and his team were on top of the world.

Smith and his Furniture Row Chevy team started off the season on the right foot with a solid seventh place finish in the Daytona 500. Early on, Smith showed that his team was capable of putting fast cars on the track. Even though he wasn't finishing in the top 10, Smith was a regular contender all year long to place high in qualifying. Smith's first top five of the year came on what was a most magical night. Smith and the Furniture Row team beat the best of the best on what many feel is the hardest track on the schedule, winning the Showtime Southern 500 becoming the first driver since Lake Speed in 1988 to get their first win at the track that's "Too Tough To Tame". Smith's second and final top five of the year came at the Brickyard 400 where he placed a strong third. At season's end, Smith finished with 2 top 5s and 5 top 10s begging the question why a major sponsor hasn't jumped on board the #78 car.

Smith was on the ball this season when it came to avoiding NASCAR and penalties in the pits. Smith was penalized once all year long for speeding in the pits, in the 30th event at Kansas in the Hollywood Casino 400. Smith only made one other mistake in the next to last race of the season at Phoenix which was did not amount to much as Smith was well off the lead lap. The Furniture Row team only made a penalty mistake during a race one time in 2011, however the team made a rare mistake by not tightening the lug nuts on their driver's car prior to the start of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

2011 Statistics For Regan Smith
26th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Showtime Southern 500)
2 top 5s
5 top 10s
36 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Regan Smith
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 7 - Tire violation-Removing outside tire acceptable/Rolling a tire(s) beyond the center of pit road, pass thru; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 12 - Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In; Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Transmission
Race 20 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 30 - Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 35 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end, garage; Going above the blend line exiting the pits, pass thru

2011 Year In Review: Paul Menard's Penalties

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Paul Menard made a big change in the 2010/2011 off-season. Menard made the move from Richard Petty Motorsports over to Richard Childress Racing with the hopes of not only being more competitive in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series but contending for race wins more often as well. The end result was a career best season for Menard, including a surprising upset victory in one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR.

Menard started off 2011 in good form, scoring solid finishes in three of the first eight races of the year. Menard placed ninth in the Daytona 500, fifth in the Jeff Byrd 500 and fifth in the Samsung Mobile 500. Menard went through a string of alternating decent finishes with bad ones before he scored another top five finish, a fourth in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400. Two races later in the Coke Zero 400, the Menard's Chevy was in the top 10 again with an eighth.

The undeniable highlight of the season came three races later at Indianapolis. Menard overcame an early pit road miscue to stretch his fuel and hold on to score an upset win, his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in the Brickyard 400. Unfortunately for the 27 team, things seemed to fall apart after the big win. While Menard backed up the victory with a 10th place effort at Pocono in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, he would not score another top 10 until the next to the last race of the season at Phoenix with a ninth place effort.

Menard was penalized four times in 2011 for speeding in pit row. The Menard's pit crew was penalized twice, once in the Brickyard 400 and once in the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond when the crew failed to keep equipment in their pit box.

2011 Statistics For Paul Menard
17th in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Brickyard 400)
4 top 5s
8 top 10s
82 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Paul Menard
Race 9 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
Race 12 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 14 - Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru
Race 20 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, tail end
Race 24 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 26 - Removing equipment from assigned pit area, stop and go/tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end garage; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

2011 Year In Review: Joey Logano's Penalties

Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

Coming off a solid sophomore season driving the Home Depot/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Joey Logano looked to further establish himself among the very best in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. Unfortunately, 2011 proved to be a struggle all season long for the 21 year old Connecticut driver. While Logano did score two poles in 2011, he only managed to earn four top five and six top 10 finishes, a big disappointment for a team that was considered to be one of the very best teams in all of NASCAR.

Logano and his Gibbs team were given an indication as to how their season would go from the very start of the year in the Daytona 500. Logano was forced to go to a backup car forcing him to start at the rear of the field for the Great American Race. Logano scored his first top 10 at Talladega in the Aaron's 499 and followed it up a few races later with a solid third place run in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Things appeared to be on the upswing for the team at the season's mid-point as Logano won the pole for the event at Infineon posting a sixth and followed it up with finishes of third at Daytona in the Coke Zero 400 and what would be a season best finish of fourth in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in New Hampshire. Logano earned his second pole of the year at Pocono in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 had his final top five and top 10 of the year in the next race at Watkins Glen.

Logano was only black flagged by NASCAR twice in 2011, however one of the two events proved rather costly. In the race at Auto Club Speedway, Logano jumped the race's final restart costing him a top five finish. JGR seemed to have engine problems all year long between their three Cup teams and Logano was a victim of having to change engines prior to the race on three occasions. The Home Depot pit crew was penalized three times on the year and twice in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Las Vegas for having too many members over the pit wall.

2011 Statistics For Joey Logano
24th in Sprint Cup standings
4 top 5s
6 top 10s
Best Finish: 4th in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301
58 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Joey Logano
Race 1 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end, backup car
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 3 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tire, pass thru
Race 5 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end; Jumping the restart, pass thru
Race 7 - Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 11 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 15 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting out of order, Tail of Field