CONCORD, NC. — The National Stock Car Racing Commission overturned three of the four penalties assessed to Robby Gordon Motorsports after hearing the team's appeal Wednesday.

NASCAR had penalized RGM 100 owner and championship points, fined crew chief Frank Kerr $100,000 and suspended him for six weeks when a pre-race inspection at Daytona Int'l Speedway revealed that a front clip used on Gordon's No. 7 Dodge was not approved by NASCAR.

Gordon argued that the information he had stated that the part, which came from Dodge supplier Gillett Evernham Motorsports, had been approved by NASCAR. GEM and Dodge supported that claim. The part, which had the correct serial number, was only nominally different from the approved part and would have given the No. 7 no competitive advantage, Gordon said. The mix-up was complicated by the fact that Gordon had switched his operation from Ford to Dodge only weeks prior to the Daytona 500.

Though NASCAR has repeatedly stated that intent holds no bearing on the enforcement of its rules, the Commission disagreed in this case, finding that extenuating circumstances surrounding the infraction warranted a reduction in three of the four penalties.

The Commission released the following statement with its ruling:

"The Commission notes and reaffirms the following fundamental principal which is vital to maintaining the integrity of the sport:  Regardless of the source of an unapproved part on a race car, the race team that officially enters the car in a NASCAR race is ultimately accountable for that racecar’s conformance, or non-conformance, to the rules. However, the Commission believes that the facts presented during the hearing represented an extraordinary and unusual set of circumstances. While this does not excuse the infraction, the National Stock Car Racing Commission has decided to reinstate the car owner and driver championship points, lift the suspension, and increase the fine."

"We feel like justice was done and appreciate NASCAR creating a system that allowed us to take our appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission. Now we plan to put this issue behind us and concentrate on making the Chase in 2008 as well as getting the Jim Beam Dodge into victory lane. I want to thank the thousands of fans and our sponsors who have supported us through this episode and want every one of you to know how much we appreciate all that you have done. Our goal is to be a model team in the future and never go through something like this again.“ — Robby Gordon

Kerr's fine was increased from $100,000 to $150,000, and he will remain on probation through the end of the year.

“We see this as good news. We are grateful the commissioners rescinded the points penalty and suspension but disappointed by the fine. Still, we see this as a victory for Robby Gordon Motorsports," Gordon said in a statement released by the team. "We feel like justice was done and appreciate NASCAR creating a system that allowed us to take our appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission. Now we plan to put this issue behind us and concentrate on making the Chase in 2008 as well as getting the Jim Beam Dodge into victory lane. I want to thank the thousands of fans and our sponsors who have supported us through this episode and want every one of you to know how much we appreciate all that you have done. Our goal is to be a model team in the future and never go through something like this again.“

Frustrated by the severity of the initial penalties, which would have more than negated his top-10 finish at Daytona, Gordon said they could have been the death knell for his one-car operation. With the penalties and consecutive poor finishes at California and Las Vegas, Gordon would have fallen to 37th in the standings — out of the coveted top-35 in owner's points, meaning he would not receive an automatic berth into each race under NASCAR rules.

In January, Gordon's off-road racing effort took a severe financial hit when the Dakar Rally was canceled. He estimated his loss at $4.5 million on that front, and he feared the operation would be unable to recover from that coupled with NASCAR's penalties.