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Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s crew chief suspended for a race

Nick Sandler, the crew chief for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., has been suspended for Sunday's race at Talladega for a violation found during pre-race inspection at Richmond.

According to NASCAR's penalty report, it's a safety violation and stems from the steering wheel connection in the car. Sandler was also fined $20,000 and put on probation through the end of the year. The penalty is classified as a P3 penalty according to NASCAR's penalty system.

Roush Fenway could choose to appeal the penalty, which would simply delay Sandler's suspension if the appeal was not overturned. But declining to appeal could be the best option, especially if the team isn't confident in its appeal chances. Talladega isn't as intensive for a crew chief as other tracks are because of the draft and the pack racing that takes place there.

Stenhouse is currently 19th in the points standings. He was 11th after the third race of the season but hasn't finished in the top 15 in any of the past four races.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!