When NASCAR announced today that they were dropping the hammer on Clint Bowyer and his team for violations following his win at Loudon, they showed the teams and fans that nobody is above the law. Big team, small team, in the Chase, or just trying to qualify, the rules apply to everyone.
Both myself and Journo have not been afraid in the two-plus year existence of this blog to both criticize and defend NASCAR. If we’ve thought one way or the other, we’ve said so. And in the process, we’ve often been called homers, kool aid drinkers, and worse. One very glaring example of such a case where we were accused of being homers was the infamous Carl Long incident. Over and over we had commenters who claimed that NASCAR was trying to hold the little guy back, and that they never came down hard on big teams (search Carl Long in the search box to the right to see the many posts and comments). We gave example after example that proved otherwise, but it didn’t matter. “If the same would have happened to Jimmie Johnson, the penalty would have been less severe.” So I have one question haters, where are you today?
In a statement from the team, Richard Childress said the measurement in question was off by 60 thousandths of an inch. So in effect, NASCAR just poured gasoline on Bowyer’s Chase chances (with the 150 point penalty) over the thickness of 15 sheets of paper (Thanks Dr. Diandra). Still think NASCAR only bullies the little guys?
It was very interesting today to follow this story as it developed and all the discussion via Twitter. We had everyone from drivers, to the media and the fans reacting as this story happened. For those upset by the penalty, it appears that the overwhelming reason is that NASCAR wouldn’t give exact details about what was illegal. I did see too the theory that NASCAR was doing this to Bowyer just to help out Jimmie, which I think is great, because dropping Bowyer from second to twelfth in the standings doesn’t benefit Johnson in any way. He’s still 92 points out of the lead regardless. What I didn’t see were any comments about the fairness of the penalty based on the status of RCR as a team in the sport.
I also want to point out that this penalty was announced on the same day as a penalty levied against little Whitney Motorsports for engine valves that did not meet weight requirements. They were fined $50,000, lost their crew chief for six races, and lost 50 driver and owner points. I sure didn’t see anyone piling on NASCAR for penalizing this small team. And they claim that it wasn’t their fault because the engine was worked on by Arrington Engines, which sounds awfully familiar to the story Carl Long gave about his illegal engine. Yet still no comments. Why? Because it’s tough to hate on NASCAR for being unfair on a day when they showed that it doesn’t matter who breaks the rules.
Over the last few years we’ve been fed all types of reasons why something was illegal on a race car. We’ve heard rogue crew chiefs, rogue engine shops, and rogue crew members were to blame. But a rogue tow truck driver? Now that takes the cake.
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We are off to the Circle City this week. Friday and Saturday night shows at ORP for the Trucks and NNS cars lead up to Sunday’s Brickyard 400. While we work through another hump day, here’s the 84th version of Ask The Insiders. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Zach:
During practice sessions, why are some cars allowed to skip past the line of cars that are waiting on pit road to get onto the track? While at Chicagoland I noticed several cars bypass the line and head straight to the track from the garage.
The higher a driver is in the points, the earlier they get to go out in practice. So I’m guessing that what you probably saw was these drivers getting to blow past those who are lower in the points. – T.C.
2. From Dan:
Do you know what’s going on with Ray Evernham? Is he attached to RPM and if so in what capacity? What happened to the connection with Dodge? Just haven’t heard much about him lately. Seems to me with the talent he had shown as a crew chief years ago he would still be at the forefront of the sport or maybe he just wanted out. I do remember him doing some work for one of the networks at one time.
The last I heard he and RPM were working with lawyers to end his relationship with the team. He hadn’t had any real role with the team for quite some time. Not sure if that’s been resolved. Other than that he is working as an analyst for ESPN, he owns East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley, N.C., and he’s working with wife Erin on her Sprint car career. There has been some rumbling that he may be interested in getting back involved in NASCAR in some capacity, but I think otherwise he’s pretty happy where he’s at. – Journo
3. From Cinde:
During qualifying, why do the drivers go down on the apron and then back up on the track as they come across the start/ finish line? Thanks for your writing! Facebook, twitter, email!! You keep me informed.
Remember that the fastest way around a track is the inside line. Some drivers think that by dropping down on the apron, they are actually cutting down the distance to the start finish line, which will result in a faster lap time. Does it actually work? Maybe a little. – T.C.
4. From Garry:
Sorry if this is a dupe question, but during the Chicago race ( I actually wrote several question that night but did not want to flood you) …..anyway.. I noticed on some cars on later pit stops that THE FREEKIN BRAKE PAD WAS ON FIRE!!! (I think it was the brake pad ) …anyway…something was on fire..and la-de-da…the badass tireman changed the wheel as if nothing was happening except… THE FREEKIN THING WAS ON FIRE!!! ….HOLYCOW TireMan!!!… Do you ever fire extinguish that thing? It seems the new tire rubber could catch if they dont haulass out of there… looked scary, but not even the commentators mentioned it.. WHAT IS THE DEAL?
A little flame from the brakes is certainly not uncommon. During race conditions, brake pads, calipers, and rotors can reach 1,200 degrees or more. And all it takes is a little rubber build up over the course of a run to give all that heat something to burn. Unless there is actually brake fluid coming out that is causing the fire, you won’t see the flame extinguished. Once the car is rolling again, and the rubber is burned off, the flame will go away. That’s why tire changers wear gloves… - T.C.
5. From Marcus:
What is your guy’s opinion on the Carl Edwards vs. Brad Keselowski deal? As an Edwards fan I am definitely with him but I am just wondering what you guys think. You don’t need to pick a side I am just wondering what you guy’s think about it. Thanks!
Honestly, I see both sides of the argument. Carl probably didn’t need to right-rear BK down the straightaway, but BK started it. If he would have raced Edwards clean, he probably wouldn’t have gotten wrecked coming to the checkered. Keselowski has shown that he isn’t against laying the bumper to somebody, and sooner or later it was going to catch up to him. Does Carl deserve some sort of penalty? Who knows? I’d be really surprised if we saw something significant however, with NASCAR’s new stance. A meeting with John Darby and Mike Helton is probably inevitable for both drivers though. – T.C.
6. From Steve:
In the Nationwide race, Ryan Truex, a MWR driver, ended up in a Gibbs car. It looked like Truex’s 99 car could have gotten back on track after his brush with the wall Did Gibbs borrow/buy/rent Truex from Waltrip, presumably to turn in laps and score some points? Has this been done before, where a driver has left a drivable car and started driving another owner’s car?
The #00 was not driveable (Trevor Bayne was in the #99). Even if it could have been repaired there was no point in putting him back out there – they aren’t running for points, just seat time. I can’t say with 100% certainty he didn’t get paid, but he didn’t get paid. He was available, and I’m sure very willing to jump in a car for Joe Gibbs. Dale Jr. did this a couple of years ago. Kyle Busch wrecked a car while he was still at Hendrick and was so angry he got out of his car and left the track. The team got the car repaired and Dale Jr. (who was also out of the race) jumped in it and finished the race. – Journo
7. From Kevin:
How much longer do you think NASCAR will continue to stick their head in the sand with ol’ Horse Face? Need I remind everyone that Kevin Harvick was once parked in a Cup race for actions in a lower series. But I would bet a pretty penny NASCAR’s golden boy from Missouri wont face the same punishment. But it has nothing to do with Jack Roush’s boy handing out the punishment, nothing to see here, move along…. Really it doesn’t matter anyway though b/c the 99 car is so far from being a championship contender he could miss 4 races and we wouldn’t notice him being one, other than Brad actually being able to finish a race and all.
I’m assuming by ‘ol’ Horse Face’ you mean Carl Edwards. Remember NASCAR instituted this new ‘boys, have at it’ policy this season that has loosened up their enforcement of things like on-track retaliation. It has nothing to do with the driver in question – it isn’t just Carl that’s gotten away with stuff this season. Remember Clint Bowyer during the Nationwide race at Dover, leaving pit road and wrecking Denny Hamlin under caution? He was only placed on probation. NASCAR has a different doctrine in place (I think for the better), then it did back when. Now whether Carl gets penalized because he is a repeat offender is yet to be seen. Expect news on that tomorrow. – Journo
8. From Denny:
I noticed on the Cup-Lite pre-race, last Saturday evening, right before the starting of the engines, they showed a close-up of the #99 and there was one guy with a Triad Racing pit suit, standing right behind, maybe the car-chief, who was giving Trevor instructions before the car moved down pit road. I think the 99 runs a Prism engine. Is this an engine tuner? BTW, I attended an ARCA race in Springfield IL, last season, and I also saw a couple of Triad Racing pit-suits around the Eddie Sharp Racing cars, as they pitted directly across the track from where I was sitting.
Triad Racing Technologies is the main engine supplier for Toyota. So, except for the Gibbs cars, whenever you see a team with Toyota power, a Triad employee is not far away. Part of the engine program for most builders includes the builder sending a tuner to the race track. So you will see guys in Triad firesuits in every series from ARCA to Cup supporting the Toyota teams. And Prism doesn’t build engines, they actually use Triad power as well. – T.C.
9. From Dave:
I think Carl Long just ran the truck race at Gateway. Does that mean that he paid that huge fine to NASCAR?
You saw correctly. He was suspended, but he wasn’t fined. The fine was imposed against his crew chief Charles Swing – I believe if he wasn’t able to pay it, it then it fell to Long’s wife as she was the car owner (it was never Carl’s responsibility). As far as I know the fine was never paid. – Journo
10. From riterchick:
How do crew members view rivalries? Do they want their driver to go for blood, or is it more a “don’t wreck the car, nitwit!” feeling. I should think it’s hard to see all your work destroyed just because of a testosterone surge on the race track.
Well that depends. If your car is already wrecked anyway, a little revenge certainly wouldn’t make it worse. I am personally of the mind that confrontations should stay on the race track and crew guys don’t need to get involved unless absolutely necessary. Fixing a ton of wrecked race cars will definitely wear on the guys at the shop though. - T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
After yesterday’s story about Front Row’s possible infraction at Pocono, we are hearing today that the penalty from NASCAR could be the biggest ever handed down.
When NASCAR makes the announcement later today or tomorrow, expect the penalty to include a $250,000 fine and 300 driver and owner points for Travis Kvapil and owner Bob Jenkins. A suspension for crew chief Steven Lane will also be included.
This penalty tops the sanctions handed down last season to Carl Long’s team after his engine was discovered to be too large at Charlotte.
Like we’ve said here before, NASCAR will always be harshest about infractions dealing with engines, tires, and fuel, and they are obviously using this situation to reinforce that notion.
No word yet on how this will affect the team’s status moving forward. Expect the team to appeal the decision.
For those of you who follow us on Twitter, you know every Monday we do a ‘best and worst’ of the weekend tweet. With the 2009 season now in the bag, we thought it might be fun to bring it over to the blog and ask you to do your best and worst of the 2009 season.
2009 certainly wasn’t short of any interesting, and compelling story lines. Toward the end of 2008 and through the entire 2009 season the economy was on everyone’s mind. The troubled state of GM and Chrysler forced the manufacturers to make cuts in their NASCAR spending; several sponsors announced their intention to leave the sport; and perhaps most noticeably the stands at many tracks were far from capacity.
Despite the bad economy, 2009 saw the start-up of several teams. After being laid-off by Bill Davis Racing in the off season, Tommy Baldwin started his own team. Jeremy Mayfield, who had been out of a full time ride since 2005 also started a team. TRG Motorsports also began running a car full-time in the Cup Series.
From Carl Long to Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR also had its fair share of controversy in 2009. Long was suspended and fined following the All-Star race after an inspection of his expired engine revealed it was too large. Jeremy Mayfield was indefinitely suspended May 9 after NASCAR said he failed a drug test. Mayfield contends the failed test was caused by a combination of Adderall and Claritin D. He sued NASCAR.
It wasn’t all bad though. Juan Pablo Montoya had a breakthrough season scoring seven top-fives, 18 top-10s, two poles and his first Chase berth. After running two part-time seasons in 2007 and 2008 Mark Martin joined Hendrick Motorsports full time and came back with a vengeance this season, winning five races and finishing second in the points.
We even had some promising prospects show what they were made of. In just his second full season, David Reutimann won his first race and came just short of making the chase. Marcos Ambrose also started to show his potential in just his first full time season. He scored four top-fives and seven top-tens finishing 18th in the points. No doubt they’ll both be teams to watch in 2010.
We also had a slew of first time winners with David Reutimann, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski all taking the checkered flag.
And how about Hendrick Motorsports? They had thirteen wins on the season and Jimmie Johnson did the unheard of, winning his fourth straight championship after seven wins, 16 top-fives, 24 top-tens and four poles. As a team they went 1-2-3 in the standings, the first time that has happened.
So now it’s your turn. What was your best and worst of 2009? Please remember to keep it clean (I know where you’re going to go with this) and treat others the way you want to be treated (if I see anything over the line it will be deleted).
We’ve got a short list of questions this week before the Cup and Nationwide Series head to California. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Ed:
What do you think of this idea: no pits stops during caution periods. Some of the advantages I see are as follows. Save money,teams will not be putting on tires at every caution even if not needed. Safety,not as many cars on pit road. Less caution flag laps,get the beer can off the track and go. No waiting for the lap cars to pit. Teams not getting screwed because a caution comes after they pit on green. It would be interesting to watch how crew chiefs would manage the race.
Not to insult your plan, but I’m not a fan of it. I don’t really see how that saves money, but even if it does I like free reign pit stops. Part of what I like about NASCAR is all the strategy that goes into it. As much as it’s about the driver, in order to win races and perform well it’s about your entire crew. Limiting pit stops would limit the competition in my eyes and I don’t like that. – Journo
2. From Safemike1:
So how come Carl Long got a suspension and fine for having an engine displacement of 358.15 instead of 358, and Jimmy Johnson;s car is .006 out of line and no fine or suspension? Pretty much any car that is out of tolerances has been fined by NASCAR and given points loss or even probation. Isn’t it time that NASCAR enforce the rules the same all across the board?
Listen I don’t want to speak for NASCAR’s decision making on issues like this (I wasn’t there), but NASCAR doesn’t do itself any favors when this stuff happens. And there are definitely a lot of folks in the garage who weren’t pleased with this. In NASCAR’s defense Carl Long was fined so heavily because he was found with an oversized engine. Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin were pushing it with their bodies and arguably within the tolerance. At the end of the day this is an area that everybody screws with. I’m not saying NASCAR was right or wrong with their decision, but I agree with you that when stuff like this happens it looks bad. – Journo
3. From Tom:
How are teams selected to test tires for Goodyear? Sorry if this was asked before, I missed it..Thanks
Goodyear usually selects one representative from two to three manufacturers to participate in tests. They try and do it on a rotating basis. – T.C.
4. From Kenny:
How much performance difference do you get from 4 fresh tires instead of 2? If you had two identical cars starting from the same position on the track, about how long would it take for the car with 4 fresh Goodyears to overtake the one which had only fresh right-sides? The 14 took 2 on his last stop and still pulled away from the field at the end of the race at Kansas. If you don’t get that much more from 4, why not take 2 every other pit stop just to gain position? Take lefts only often enough to make sure you don’t get blow-outs. I’m also wondering about sticker tires. I see all the side to side steering to warm up the tires after a round of pit stops during cautions and at the beginning of a race, so I wonder if you lose performance when you make a green-flag stop. Would NASCAR permit a back-marker team running laps for position to scuff sticker tires for other teams?
The effect of four tires versus two really depends on the track. At a track like Darlington that is very hard on tires, you almost never see a team only take two. There is no formula for how quickly a car with four fresh tires would overtake a car with two fresh tires. Tony Stewart was able to stay out front on two tires at Kansas because of that infamous “clean air.” Being mired back in traffic negates some of the benefits of four tires. In regards to new tires after green flag stops, drivers know that it will take a few laps at speed for the temps to come up and for the tires to be at their best. This really happens after all pit stops, not just green flag stops. – T.C.
5. From Rain:
During Sunday’s race, Brad K was told by NASCAR to drive less aggressively around the chasers. It sort of angered me. Isn’t that his job??? To win a race?
I’m going to straddle the fence on this one. I understand where NASCAR is coming from because you don’t want Brad K. to wreck one of the Chasers and that to impact the championship. On the other side of things he’s out there to race hard and win. That is his job. I don’t think I personally have a good way to look at this situation, but I think you’re justified in being irritated, whatever that’s worth. Here’s a good back and forth about the incident on NASCAR.com. – Journo
6. From Karen:
What are pit officials looking for when tires are changed? In other words, I can see that they could easily tell if a lugnut was dropped, but how do they know from a distance that one is loose? Do they look different? How can they tell something like that? Is it an exact science or is it subjective? (p.s. I bet you can guess why I’m asking that question. I hate to see a good run – finally! – ruined by something like that, and I really don’t want to hear that it’s one of those judgement calls but I’m betting it is! LOL)
The officials are looking to see if all the lugnuts are on the studs. The rule specifically says “all lugnuts must be installed before the car leaves the assigned pit box.” I’m guessing you are referring to Dale Jr’s pit stop at Kansas, and it is my understanding that a lugnut was missing, not loose. I’ve never heard of a team being penalized by NASCAR for a loose lugnut, because there is really no way for an official to tell if a lugnut is loose or tight. – T.C.
People.
Just like any other sport on this planet, the basis of NASCAR is the people involved. The only real difference between NASCAR and other sports being the means in which the competition happens. In one, it’s guys chasing around a while ball trying to hit it the fewest times possible. In another it’s about putting a frozen piece of rubber into a net more times then the other team. And in NASCAR it’s guys duking it out for several hundred miles, behind the wheel of 3,400 lb stock cars, to see who is the fastest.
When you turn on your TV each week and tune in to watch a race, you are given a small glimpse into the lives of some of these people. You watch how they perform on the track, how they perform in the pits, and what they do and say when they have a camera and microphone in their face. And from watching these things, you form an opinion about what kind of person each individual is.
For example, you know that Jimmie Johnson is a great driver, but he’s “kinda vanilla.”
And, you know that Kyle Busch is also a great driver, but he is anything but vanilla.
But if you were being honest with yourself, do you really KNOW these things about these guys?
Unless you are best friends with them, of course you don’t.
This idea of reality vs. perception is not a new topic, but it is an underlying theme in a lot of the current hot button issues in our sport. Whether we are talking about Jeremy Mayfield, Carl Long, Dale Jr., or Kyle Busch.
There was a piece written by Matt McLaughlin that appeared on the website “The Frontstretch” on Tuesday this week about NASCAR’s new Citizen Journalist Corps. In it, McLaughlin offered up some advice that was given to him early in his journalistic career that caught my attention. Here is an excerpt:
[My boss] told me something that was going to stick with me for life. He told me that the more access I got to the garage area, the more I learned about the people who ran the sport and the people who made up the sport, the less I was going to like it. You look behind the curtain and you risk learning that the wizards are only mortal men. I was naive then, I never thought it could happen. It did.
I thought this was interesting because McLaughlin was being warned about his preconceived notions of the sport and the people involved. Like many others, he had this grandiose picture in his mind about the way things were, and he was about to find out that this picture was actually quite different. And apparently, he didn’t like that.
But where he was disappointed to find out that the “wizards” were actually “mortal men,” I personally was amazed.
Having been a long time race fan before I got involved in the sport, I had my own perception of the way people were. But the deeper I got, and the more I learned about the actual people involved, the more I loved NASCAR.
I found out that some drivers I didn’t really like on TV, I actually really liked in person; and vice versa. And discovering that the stars in the garage and on pit road were just regular people doing amazing things made me respect them even more.
Being active on Twitter has allowed us to have some great conversations with folks about a lot of topics. This week, I took the opportunity to find out what some people thought about the ongoing Jeremy Mayfield/positive drug test saga. I wanted to know why it seemed so many people were quickly jumping up to defend Mayfield. I didn’t understand why a positive drug test wasn’t enough evidence to believe Mayfield did wrong. The most common response I got was “he’s not that kind of guy.” Oh really? How do you know?
These folks have a certain view of Mayfield that they have built up over the years watching him race. They believe they know what kind of person he is because they’ve seen him compete and be interviewed on TV, or maybe they’ve met him briefly in public.
What they fail to realize is, the face these drivers put up and the responses given to reporters are often carefully crafted by the PR and marketing people behind the scenes. You are usually seeing the driver how they want you to see him.
So in the cases of both Jeremy Mayfield and Carl Long, the perception is that the big bully (NASCAR) is picking on the defenseless little guy (Mayfield & Long). And many people are eating it up.
The point I’m trying to make here is, don’t let outward appearances fool you into thinking these guys are anything more then regular people. Drivers, crew chiefs, tire changers, owners, whoever. They are all just normal guys who happen to do something special (and some get paid very well). They have problems and make mistakes just like everyone else.
But instead of letting that fact ruin your view of your favorite driver, or NASCAR as a whole, embrace it! Understanding that these people are real humans should make the sport more endearing. Instead of watching mythical beings at work, wouldn’t you much rather watch common men doing uncommon things? I know I would.
*DISCLAIMER: We ask you beforehand to fully read the post before responding. We encourage good discussion and well thought out opinions. What we are not going to put up with is name calling and personal attacks. If we see any of that happening we will delete the comment.*
On Tuesday the National Stock Car Racing Commission, NASCAR’s version of an appellate court, upheld most of the penalties against driver Carl Long.
In their ruling the Commission upheld the 12-race suspension, but only to the Cup Series garage, the $200,000 fine of crew chief Charles Swing and loss of owner and driver points. The Commission said if Swing is unable to pay the fine it may not fall to Long.
From the start of this thing, I can honestly say I have had very little pity for Carl Long. The minute he entered his car into the race a few weeks ago he agreed to abide by NASCAR’s rules. These rules are spelled out very clearly, in a very detailed rule book that Carl Long has.
He knew the expectations and he knew the consequences and he did not follow them either by accident or on purpose (I’m not going to try to determine intent and NASCAR shouldn’t have to either). He is now paying the price.
What was Carl Long’s response to this? It wasn’t the maturity you would expect of a 41-year-old. No, we got name calling, off the wall accusations, an inability to take responsibility and conspiracy theories. I never much thought about Carl Long before this, but I now have very little respect for the man.
He has tried to place blame on respected engine builder Ernie Elliott. Let me remind you this was a motor Elliott bought used from Chip Ganassi Racing, and then sold to Long not last month, but in January. The last time I checked if I buy a used car and something goes wrong five months later I don’t blame the car dealer that sold me the car. Ernie Elliott has no responsibility for that motor once it is sold, much like that car dealer. Who knows who has been working on that motor, or what has been done with that motor since it was sold to Long FIVE MONTHS ago.
Ernie Elliott has zero responsibility in this situation. And I am disgusted that Carl Long would trash this man the way he has. Ernie Elliott has built engines for years and has never had an issue like this. We certainly never saw this problem arise when he was building motors for Ganassi; and I assure you plenty of Ganassi’s motors were inspected.
Elliott was not the only person he trashed though. He referred to John Capels, Jack Housby and George Silbermann, all very respected businessmen in their own right, as “big bullies.”
He then went to on to attack both Brian France and Mike Helton. I know these are controversial men among many ardent fans, but they don’t deserve to have their integrity questioned.
And then he went on to attack the business as a whole, one which as far as I can tell has earned him a very good living. I saw in one article he estimated he was making about $100,000 a year. Now this isn’t to say he hasn’t earned that, but that is good money that not too many people in this country make. Especially to go racing every weekend.
Long and many others have argued that he can now no longer make a living doing what he knows. This is a farce. He works for a team that not only sometimes has two Cup Series teams but also a Nationwide team (remember he is not suspended from the Nationwide garage). He also doesn’t have to travel to the track for those weeks he is on suspension. Does this mean his present role with Front Row Motorsports is going to have to change for a little while? Definitely. But does it mean he can’t earn a living? Absolutely not.
At the end of the day the only reason this has become the issue that it has become is because Long can’t afford to pay the penalty. In instances where other teams have been issued large or aggressive penalties for things like jet-fuel additives in the fuel system (Micheal Waltrip Racing), or magnets behind the gas pedal (Joe Gibbs Racing) (among other incidents) we saw a lot people, a lot of fans calling these teams cheaters.
This happens to a small team and it is just the evil empire trying to stick it to the small guy. I think the release from the commission said it best:
“While it is tempting to consider penalties that this driver and team can more-readily bear, the sport would not be well served by having a sliding scale of penalties calibrated to a given team or member’s resources. Penalties of this magnitude for this type of infraction are warranted in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
And guess what? Drivers get this. Other than to sympathize with his lack of funding, I haven’t heard a single driver disagree with NASCAR issuing a penalty (Martin Truex and Jeff Burton here). They know if this were their team, they would face just as stiff a penalty. I know this is something many people don’t believe, but it’s true, NASCAR has proved many times before they are willing to fine the big teams (Chad Knaus was ejected from Speedweeks and then suspended for six races in 2006; also refer to earlier mentioned penalties).
This was a big deal, whether Carl meant to do it or not. Every team and driver knows fuel, tires and engines are things you don’t mess with and he apparently inadvertently broke that golden rule.
He wanted to run with the big dogs on Sunday, but clearly could not handle the responsibility and consequences that can go along with that (i.e. $200,000 fines). In my opinion if Carl didn’t have the resources, for whatever reason, to make sure every part of that car was in spec he didn’t deserve to be out on that race track.
He now needs to bite the bullet and serve his penalty with integrity.