Jimmie Johnson returns to Victory Lane, and suddenly NASCAR’s rule book comes under attack. This isn’t the first time it’s happened, and probably won’t be the last.

It may not seem fair. But due to past instances, I have to raise this question: Was the penalty that NASCAR handed out to Marcos Ambrose on Sunday at Infineon Raceway wrong?

For those of you who don’t know what happened, let me bring you up to speed. Ambrose was leading with 5 laps to go on Sunday at Sonoma when a caution came out. When he shut down his engine in a fuel-saving maneuver, Ambrose’s car stalled on the track. According to NASCAR “rules”, if you are unable to maintain pace car speed, you forfeit your position and are scored wherever you resumed pace car speed.

While that may seem pretty cut and dry, past instances have allowed exceptions to be made.

A very infamous instance came two years ago at Michigan, when Dale Earnhardt Jr., in an effort to save fuel, shut down his engine and coasted past the pace car(which is illegal in itself). When his coasting car slowed down to a speed slower than that of the pace car, several other cars on the track passed him as well. But Earnhardt was allowed to retain his position as the leader, and went on to win the race.

There have also been several cases in which cars have stalled following a red flag, and are passed by several cars that are going pace car speed.  Those cars have always been allowed a push from a push-truck to get them re-fired, and are allowed to retain their position.

So if the drivers in these cars were allowed to retain their position while not maintaining pace car speed, why wasn’t Ambrose allowed to do the same? If these drivers have gone without penalty, doesn’t that mean that Marcos Ambrose’s penalty was wrong?

Hot: Jimmie Johnson. The father-to-be earned his first road course win in NASCAR. Ironic it happened on Father’s Day, seeing as it looked more like a gift than anything else.

Not: Marcos Ambrose. The man who gave J.J. his present had his first career win in the bag, until a mysterious voice told him to turn his engine off under caution. Don’t listen to voices, Marcos. They’re very bad.

Hot: Robby Gordon. Nice run for Robby, but you could tell he wanted to win very badly. Still, a runner-up finish is just what the doctor ordered, and helps Gordon solidify his position in the top 35.

Not: Clint Bowyer. Clint’s two wrecks did not help his Chase status at all. He and one of our other “Nots” will be looking for Jeff Gordon’s head in Loudon next week.

Hot: Kevin Harvick. Happy had another solid run this weekend, and with Kyle Busch’s struggles he strengthened his points lead.

Not: Joe Gibbs Racing. The Gibbs drivers discovered this weekend that it’s easier to race with a front-end than without one. That little piece of information will come in handy when the Chase rolls around.

Hot: Kasey Kahne. If you think obvious pieces of information(such as the one I just gave you about Joe Gibbs Racing) don’t come in handy, consider this: Kasey Kahne hasn’t finished outside the top 5 since he discovered that passing in the grass(or trees) doesn’t work.

Not: Martin Truex Jr. Martin’s crash hurt his Chase hopes, but the aforementioned “Not” might have something to look forward to next week at Loudon: Revenge on Jeff Gordon. Don’t mess with the quiet guys.

Hot: Boris Said. The Said Heads had something to be proud of this weekend as Boris brought home an eighth-place finish at Sonoma. Also, congrats to Latitude 43 Motorsports on it’s first-ever top 10 finish. Nice job, boys!

Not: The NASCAR Rule Book. Jimmie Johnson returns to Victory Lane and the Rule Book receives criticism. Surprised?