Al, Can you give me an example of a time when someone was tossed from the event for the same infraction? That run which the car didn't go 5 feet didn't have anything to do with the Championship as in where he qualified. And it would have been disallowed if he had made a good run. As was pointed out he was fined heavily. But I'm curious why you think he should have been DQed from the event?
Alan
'Morning, Alan.
Honestly, the closest I can come was an instance I personally witnessed at the Winter Nationals years ago. A Div. 7 Top Fuel dragster waved off Buster Couch's shut off signal for an oil leak and moved in to stage. Buster calmly put the box down, picked up a fire extinguisher and emptied it into the injector until the engine quit! And when the guy got out of the car, he was told in a loud voice to remove himself from the premises. He did.
The rules violation in Tony's case was just as blatant. The fact that Tony was fined rather substantially is a non issue.....he
should have been fined.
As for being DQ'd from the event, we could start with the NHRA rule book, Section 1, pg 4
1.3.1 Participant Conduct
"Any participant who, in the sole and absolute judgment of NHRA (1) verbally or physically threatens another person; (2) uses vulgar or derogatory
language; (3) engages in unsportsmanlike conduct; (4) engages in conduct detrimental to the sport of racing; (5) otherwise creates a condition or circumstance that is unsafe, unfair, or out of order; (6) is not honest and truthful in his or her dealings with NHRA, including without limitation making a false statement or creating, submitting or using a false writing or document; or (7) otherwise violates any NHRA rule, regulation or agreement, shall have violated this rule regarding participant conduct. Any participant who NHRA believes to have a conflict of interest that does or may improperly affect fair competition shall be disqualified from participating to the extent necessary to avoid such conflict of interest. The scope of such a disqualification shall be determined in the sole and absolute discretion of NHRA."
Without question, Tony violated #3 and #5. And, as it's written, the NHRA has complete discretion as to the extent of any actions. In this case, they chose to back the racer and undermine the authority of the starter. That the starter lost control of the starting line is a separate issue.
Things happen and I'm sure all involved would do things differently if they could. But the facts are that for many, Tony's 2006 championship will always have an asterisk by it.
Just my 2 cents from the Sportsman ranks.

-Al