Daytona Beach, FL (My Sportsbook) - Martin Truex, Jr.'s bid for the "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" took a serious hit Tuesday when NASCAR slapped his No.1 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet team with severe penalties for a rules violation that occurred during opening day inspection last week at Daytona International Speedway.

Truex was docked 150 driver points after NASCAR officials discovered the roof of the car did not conform to the sanctioning body's specifications. Truex was 14th in the point standings, but after the penalty, he has now fallen to 18th, trailing 12th-place Tony Stewart by 238. There are eight races remaining before the "chase" begins, then only the top-12 drivers become eligible to compete for the Sprint Cup title in the final 10 races of the season.

Team owner Teresa Earnhardt was also penalized 150 owner points.

Both crew chief Kevin Manion and car chief Gary Putnam have been suspended from Sprint Cup competition for the next six races and placed on probation for the remainder of the year. Manion has also been fined $100,000.

After failing inspection on Thursday, NASCAR confiscated Truex's primary car and sent it to its research and development center in Concord, NC for further evaluation. Truex was forced to use a backup car in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. He qualified 35th and finished 17th.

Truex was one of the drivers who qualified for the "chase" in 2007. He finished the year 11th in points.