No, I am not talking about ice cream. I am talking about NASCAR's recent penalties handed down to drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson.

Clearly, there was no favoritism here! (ha!)

Earnhardt's team deliberately broke NASCAR rules. Gordon's and Johnson's teams modified their "Car(s) of Tomorrow" by making changes to areas of the car not "covered" by NASCAR's templates. Each team was penalized basically the same, however.

Previously, NASCAR simply ordered teams who did what Gordon's and Johnson's did to correct the modifications because they were, after all, in a gray area of the rules. Not this time!

Never mind that Earnhardt is struggling this season, as he did last season, or that Gordon and Johnson have the winningest teams this season.

Perhaps that is it -- NASCAR sensed the need to create some hoopla around the sport. After all, Gordon and Johnson have more or less taken the hoopla away from the races themselves by winning practically every time they are on the track.

Apparently, not enough hoopla has been generated by who some call "superstar rookie" Juan Pablo Montoya.

Why exactly do some call him a superstar? He has won one Busch race this season, in a questionable manner, and he has won one Nextel Cup race, a road course race. He ranks 21st in the points standing. He's hardly a superstar rookie in my book!

Gordon and Johnson, both part of Hendrick Racing, have become the "Yankees" of NASCAR. They are dominating everything. Everyone wants Earnhardt Jr. to be a winner -- and he may become one since he too is joining the Hendrick team, and NASCAR may be wanting something for their fans to talk about. So, they make "rulings" as they did against Earnhardt, Gordon and Johnson.

What do you think? Soft on Earnhardt, Jr. or hard on Gordon and Johnson?

Jack Rollins is the managing editor of the Daily Dunklin Democrat.