During pre-race inspections for the Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip’s car failed.On closer inspection, a clear foreign substance was discovered in the car’s intake manifold. It was later revealed that the substance was an illegal fuel booster designed to add more oxygen to the fuel’s mixture thus generating more horsepower – a steroid for cars.

Waltrip denied knowing about the illegal substance that had been placed in his car and as a result Waltrip’s crew chief was suspended indefinitely and a $100,000 fine levied on Waltrip Racing – the largest such penalty in NASCAR. But that is simply not enough.

It has been quite well known how easy it is to “cheat,” in NASCAR races as the rules aren’t clearly defined and leave a lot of room for interpretation.The scandal that followed is a regrettably familiar song and dance we as sports fans have had to endure with unfortunate regularity. Now don’t get me wrong, I am in no way calling NASCAR a sport (more on that another day) but the similarities are there.Just a few short months ago we saw NFL player Shawne Merriman serve a four-game suspension for violating the league’s steroid policy. The substance in question - a clear liquid designed to give the athlete more power, strength and to shorten recovery time. Merriman insisted that he had no idea that he ingested the substance claiming he took legal dietary supplements approved by the league and maintained that someone else must have given him his illegal edge. Sound familiar?What surprises me is how easy the NASCAR people got off. Easy you say? $100,000 – easy? Yes, easy. In a perfect world cheaters would be forced to pay for their transgressions. Despite Waltrip maintaining his innocence and ignorance I don’t buy it and he should also be held accountable. If you want to make someone think twice about cheating make the penalty severe – suspend the entire team from NASCAR competition for at least the race in question.Suspending the crew chief indefinitely is harsh but Waltrip still gets to race. Merriman took the juice and coach Marty Schottenhimer wasn’t suspended. Waltrip’s car had the substance and yet he still gets to race. Waltrip should have been a man and said my team cheated and so I will also serve the suspension. Did you catch that? Team. We do not live in a perfect world and Merriman was selected to represent the NFL professionals at the Pro Bowl. Waltrip cheated and gets to race, granted he had to “qualify,” again but he still gets to race.Instead we rewarded these cheaters by allowing them to compete. What kind of message are we sending to fans and the children that look up to professional athletes (for this point we will consider NASCAR drivers athletes), that it is OK to bend the rules in your favor? And that getting caught only means a simple fine and surely someone on my “team,” will take the brunt of the punishment.Take away their livelihood and the cheating will stop. Unfortunately Barry Bonds just signed a contract extension.