Riggs Crew Member Suspended for Shove

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Crew member Craig Curione was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Tuesday for shoving Kevin Harvick on pit road at Texas Motor Speedway. <br/><br/>The push knocked Harvick, his wife

Wednesday, November 8th 2006, 10:04 am

By: News On 6

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ Crew member Craig Curione was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Tuesday for shoving Kevin Harvick on pit road at Texas Motor Speedway.

The push knocked Harvick, his wife and a NASCAR official to the ground. The Harvicks were not injured, but NASCAR official John Sacco was taken to the infield medical center with a sprained ankle.

Curione, the front tire carrier for Scott Riggs, was fined $10,000, NASCAR officials said.

Evernham Motorsports, which owns Riggs' team, said it supported the disciplinary action against Curione and would not appeal the penalty.

``We apologize to Kevin and DeLana Harvick, NASCAR, our partners and our fans for this incident,'' team co-owner James Rocco said. ``The behavior demonstrated by the involved crew member was in violation of the (our) employee code of conduct and will not be tolerated.''

The team did not indicate if it will take internal action against Curione.

Curione was one of several crew members who approached Harvick minutes after Sunday's race at Texas and exchanged words with the driver, apparently in retaliation for an incident late in the race.

Harvick was close behind Riggs when the latter crashed while running third with seven laps to go. It appeared Harvick's car took the air off the rear deck of Riggs' car and Riggs was unable to maintain control.

When Harvick walked toward the infield media center, witnesses said Curione shoved him in the back. Harvick fell into his wife, DeLana, and she fell into a NASCAR official. All three tumbled to the ground.

``Those guys decided they wanted to take matters into their own hands and trip my wife in front of their pit box,'' Harvick said after the race. ``That's a little bit unnecessary, so we're not too happy about that.''