Associated Press
The NASCAR notebook …
CHARLOTTE ó Crew chief Jerry Baxter said Monday he apologized to Steve Wallace for pulling the driversí hair after the Nationwide Series race in Montreal.
Baxter was crew chief for Patrick Carpentier, a Canadian driver making the final start of his career in Saturdayís road course race. He was running fourth late in the event when contact with Wallace ended his race.
Baxter, crew chief for Pastrana Waltrip Racing, reached into Wallaceís car and pulled Wallaceís hair as the driver made his way down pit road after the race. The incident was caught on Wallaceís in-car camera.
ěIím sorry for what happened after the race on Saturday and I take responsibility for my own actions,î Baxter said in a statement. ěI was just very frustrated and let my emotions get to me. That was Patrickís last race and we wanted to make it special.
ěWe really thought he had a shot for the win and everything boiled over when that chance went away in the wreck. Everyone was just racing hard and there was no intent to wreck anyone. Thereís no excuse for what I did after the race and I apologize to everyone.î
Wallace joked about the hair-pulling on his Twitter page Monday.
ěJust talked to Jerry Baxter,î Wallace posted, ěhe said heís gonna give me my hair back!!!!!!î
Pastrana Waltrip Racing co-owner Michael Waltrip also apologized and said the team prides itself on hard racing, ěbut we always want to be good sports.
ěJerry Baxter is very passionate about our race team, but what Jerry did after Saturdayís race was wrong and he knows it,î Waltrip said. ěBelieve me, I understand how emotional you can get behind the wheel or up on the pit box, Iíve been there. But, you have to draw a line and Jerry crossed that line. Itís not what we are all about.î
ABUSE
CHARLOTTE ó NASCAR has suspended Trucks Series driver Shane Sieg for violating the substance abuse policy.
Sieg’s suspension was announced Monday. He’s the second driver from NASCAR’s top three national series to be suspended since the random drug testing policy was adopted in 2009.
Jeremy Mayfield was the first driver suspended. He failed a random test in May 2009. He’s currently suing NASCAR over the suspension.
Sieg has run in 12 of the 15 Trucks Series races this year. His season-best finish was 12th at Darlington in May.
He last raced at Pocono on Aug. 7, finishing 14th.