Here is the quote where NASCAR admits Tony was forced down below the line…

Eric

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pr…@motorsport.com wrote:

>When asked if Benson had forced Stewart below the line, Zipadelli
>replied candidly. "He did and NASCAR doesn’t debate that. You can’t
>debate it. But the thing is we advanced our position because we passed
>the ’10′ car going below the yellow line when he forced us there.

>"What do you do? You lift? You don’t? You cause a wreck? You spin the
>’10′ car out because he was moving from one lane to the other? But,
>that’s not the rule. You’ve got to treat people with respect. It’s three
>laps to go and we’re racing for a million dollars. I wouldn’t expect my
>driver to lift in those circumstances.

>"Tony didn’t intentionally go down there to pass him (Benson), but we
>did go below the line and that’s what the rule says. It doesn’t say,
>’depends how you get there,’ it just says, ‘if you do go below the
>line.’ If you look at it that way, we’re getting the penalty that is
>coming to us.

>"Tony’s upset because Tony is a fierce competitor, no different than
>myself," continued Zipadelli. "To us, we didn’t think it was fair in the
>way we’re looking at it. That’s the important thing. We were looking at
>it one way and we don’t think it’s fair. But, if you look at it the way
>they (NASCAR) are, it’s almost cut and dried. We just went in to debate
>our side. A decision is a decision.

>"They did say in the driver’s meeting that if you did go below the      
>yellow line and they caught you that they would penalize you. All I    
>asked of them (NASCAR) was to be fair. I don’t know if I agree with    
>their decision, but I understand their reasoning. Obviously, I’m going  
>to be partial in the way that I see it because, here is my investment.  
>I understand that their reasoning is that if they made a rule and they  
>didn’t enforce it, then their rules wouldn’t mean anything. So, on      
>both sides of it, it’s one of those judgment calls and one of those    
>situations. We’ve come out on the end of it and that’s costly. But      
>we’ll just go on. We’ll go to Chicago."