Charlotte, N.C. ? Dale Earnhardt Jr. was docked 100 points Tuesday, and his crew chief was fined $100,000 and suspended for six races for an illegal part at Darlington Raceway.

The penalty is a significant setback in his team’s bid to win a Cup title before racing’s most popular driver leaves after the season.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. will appeal, team president Max Siegel said.

“We are not disputing the ruling,” Siegel said. “But we are appealing the severity of the penalty because the penalty itself is not spelled out in the rule book.”

Tony Eury Jr.’s suspension is for points races only, meaning he’ll be allowed to work with Earnhardt in Saturday night’s All-Star race and until his appeal is decided. If he does ultimately miss races, car chief Tony Gibson will replace him on top of the pit box.

The penalty knocked Earnhardt from 12th in the standings – the final qualifying position for the Chase for the championship – to 14th. He’s now 721 points behind Nextel Cup leader Jeff Gordon, and 54 points out of Chase contention.

NASCAR inspectors said Earnhardt’s rear wing was improperly mounted when it was checked Saturday at Darlington. The brackets used to mount the piece were confiscated.