NASCAR is ready to use its big stick: NASCAR's crackdown on cheating will mean harsher penalties, but the effort will be worthwhile in the long run.(NASCAR)

If you're going to do the crime, get ready to do the time--that's the message NASCAR boldly sent to teams last week in response to rules infractions at Las Vegas.

To send the point home, president Mike Helton followed up with this warning in the drivers meeting before the start of Sunday's race at Atlanta: "NASCAR will do whatever it feels like it has to do to maintain the confidence of everyone in the garage, where everyone is playing on the same playing field."

NASCAR will get tough, Helton said: "This is the warning that you should not depend on NASCAR's traditional reactions."

One NASCAR official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said NASCAR is considering erasing all of the points received if a car fails a post-race inspection.

Let's say Racer X receives $400,000 for a victory. Does a $25,000 hit really matter? No. But take away 175 or 185 points from a driver, and he will feel the pain come Richmond, when it's time to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon--who co-owns the No. 48 team, which was penalized for being too short at Las Vegas--says, "There are other ways of severity that would get attention." But he " adds, "I question why we have wins that stick when they don't make post-race inspection."

Overwhelmingly, the sentiment of fans last week was to disallow a victory if a car is illegal. No points. No money. Nada. Fans want the even playing field Helton proposes.