Why did Tony Stewart end up in 28th place yesterday?

[Uncommon_Sense]

If the field is frozen at the drop of the caution flag then why did TS (who got in his own little fender bender after and ahead of the first accident) wind up finishing 28th?

Here’s a little setup for those who didn’t catch the race;
There was some fluid on the track from a rear-end that blew up so they had to finish the race under a green/white/checker condition which means that when the race re-starts there will be two laps to go.
On the re-start it appeared as though TS was in the top 10. There was an accident behind the front pack in which several cars were taken out and the caution was lowered ending the race and whatever place you’re in the split second the caution comes out is where you finish the race, there is no racing back to the finish line. Cameras capture your position on the track and that’s final.
Well, TS got in a skirmish with a couple of drivers just moments after the first accident was happening behind him. Therefore, it’s my contention that his place on the track should have been locked in due to the first accident and the resulting yellow for that wreck. His place on the track should be somewhere in the top 10 as that’s where he was when the accident behind him started and the yellow should have dropped.
What am I missing? Is there some rule that states that you still have to cross the finish line under power even though the yellow is out and drivers places are locked in?

[Duckster]

From a NASCAR blog …

Mailbag

From Desi …
Why did Tony Stewart, who got wrecked after the original wreck which caused NASCAR to throw the yellow in the first place, get dumped to 28th on the grid? At the time the yellow came out and Mike Joy exclaimed, “That’s it, it’s over,” Tony was in the top 10, around sixth or so. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was somewhere around where they ended up ranking him in seventh or eighth, but he was behind Stewart at the time the yellow flew.

Bottom line: The field is “frozen,” meaning drivers cannot advance their position under yellow – but the car still has to cross the finish line. Smoke, obviously, did not and was scored the first car off the lead lap.

Source: http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/opinion/04/30/cross.words.talladega/2.html

WAG - Smoke was being punished for speaking up the previous week on his radio show. He was already fined $10,000 for not participating in the after-race media event from the previous race. Since his radio show at mid-week was outside of NASCAR’s jurisdiction, they punished him by giving him only 28th place.

An irony twist here, but Stewart actually climbed up one spot in the Nextel points standing!

[racer72]

@Duckster

WAG - Smoke was being punished for speaking up the previous week on his radio show. He was already fined $10,000 for not participating in the after-race media event from the previous race. Since his radio show at mid-week was outside of NASCAR’s jurisdiction, they punished him by giving him only 28th place.

That’s rediculous. This was not the first time a car has failed to finish a race under similiar circumstances and it won’t be the last. The same thing happened to Casey Mears last year. A yellow was thrown during a GWC and the field slowed, Mears took the white flag in third place. He ran out of gas on the back stretch and never made it around to take the checkered. He was scored in 21st position, one lap down.