The four Nextel Cup crew chiefs that were suspended by NASCAR on Tuesday can’t say they weren’t warned.

NASCAR has been tough on cheaters the past couple of years, and Chad Knaus’ suspension last year at Daytona was the first instance of the hard-line stance NASCAR was going to take.

In Chicago last season, teams were told that subsequent penalties would be increasingly harsher.

Now Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler are starting the season with negative points. It’s in line with what NASCAR said was coming.

The only thing that might put a stop to the cheating is that the offending teams will not be allowed to show up to the next race. That’ll him where it counts — the sponsorship.