BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) – Kevin Harvick joked about the penalties handed down to Joe Gibbs Racing this week for cheating, then brushed the scandal talk aside as overblown.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t as quick to forgive and forget.

NASCAR suspended seven JGR crew members indefinitely this week for attempting to manipulate a horsepower test after a Nationwide Series race in one of the harshest rulings ever handed down by the governing body. The suspensions included both JGR crew chiefs in the series, and drivers Tony Stewart and Joey Logano were each docked 150 driver points.

The teams also were penalized 150 owner points each and placed on probation for the rest of the year after inspectors found magnets on the gas pedals of both cars after the race. NASCAR said it was an attempt to mask the true horsepower of the cars.

“I think there is a new promotion that all Toyotas are giving away free magnets with any purchase of a new car,” Harvick quipped Friday when asked about his reaction to the cheating revelation. Harvick is a former Nationwide Series champion and owns a team in the series.

He then turned serious.

“J.D. and Joe Gibbs don’t run their company like that. It is obviously not a decision that was made from the top or the people that represent their company. It was a mistake made by somebody that put their own mind to it,” he said, calling the penalties “pretty harsh.”

Harvick’s thoughts seemed to echo those of others who have said Gibbs’ reputation is viewed as a fair and respected competitor, but Earnhardt didn’t agree.

“I don’t know that they were tough enough,” he said of the sanctions. “That was pretty wild. … For all the races they won, I think they should have been a lot tougher on them. It was just obvious, blatant cheating and a unique circumstance, too, on the chassis dyno.”

Asked if Gibbs’ spotless reputation should be taken into account, Earnhardt said no.

“Did that 20 car not get confiscated?” he asked, referring to NASCAR’s impounding of Tony Stewart’s car before a 2003 race at Texas because it didn’t meet inspection specifications.

“Y’all need to do your homework,” Earnhardt said, adding that he doesn’t think any less of Gibbs for what happened because all the teams search for advantages they can make work.

“There’s a little part of you that is ticked because you’re competing against these guys and they’re trying to bend the rules,” he said. “You’re also envious and mad that you didn’t think of it yourself, you know what I mean?”

Olympic fever

Carl Edwards has the best dismount in NASCAR by a wide margin, routinely doing a back flip off the window deck of his car when his team wins a race.

Naturally, that makes him a fan of the Olympic athletes in Beijing.

“We were watching badminton players and that’s unbelievable,” he said. “Every sport that’s being competed at the Olympics is cool to watch because they’re just the best in the world at it. The track and field stuff is amazing. I got to watch the 100 and 200 and some hurdles.”

Watching, he said, could get his team playing when they have down time.

“Tom, my motor home driver, says he’s gonna put up a court,” Edwards said, speaking of badminton. “He’s really excited about it because we played in school, but you play for a week or something and that’s all the badminton we ever played.”

Pit stops

Ryan Newman’s track qualifying record wasn’t approached. Edwards won the pole at 121.860 mph, almost 7 seconds shy of Newman’s record of 128.709 in March 2003. . … Kurt Busch has earned five of his 17 career Sprint Cup victories at Bristol.