Nascar Suspends 4 Crew Chiefs, Docks Drivers Points at Daytona By Gene Laverty Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Nascar suspended the crew chiefs for Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs and docked each driver points from races after their cars failed inspections in qualifying for the season-opening Daytona 500. All of the suspensions were for unapproved aerodynamic modifications, Nascar said in a statement. Ken Francis, chief for Kahne's No. 9 Dodge Charger, and Robbie Reiser, who heads the pit crew for Kenseth's No. 17 Ford Fusion, were each suspended for four races and fined $50,000. Kahne and Kenseth were each docked 50 driver championship points. Ray Evernham, owner of Kahne's car, and Jack Roush, owner of Kenseth's car, were penalized 50 car-owner points. The violations were found after time trials two days ago, which means each driver will have to start at the back of the field in their qualifying races Feb. 15. Riggs and Sadler each were docked 25 driver points because their violations were found prior to qualifying. Rodney Childers, Riggs's crew chief on the No. 10 Dodge, and Josh Browne, who pits Sadler's No. 19 Dodge, were suspended for two races and fined $25,000 apiece. Evernham, who owns Sadler's car, and Riggs's owner, James Rocco, were penalized 25 owner points. Nascar has been cracking down on teams who cheat to gain an advantage in qualifying and racing. Last year, Chad Knaus, crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, was suspended for four races after making an illegal adjustment to the rear window of his car during qualifying for Daytona. Johnson went on to win the race and the season championship. To contact the reporter on this story: Gene Laverty in Calgary at [email protected] . Last Updated: February 13, 2007 17:30 EST The good ole boys are at it again. Only took em to the first race to get started. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys. Redneck Racing at its best. Ciao Dr. Phil the first hundred years are the hardest, then it's all down hill.
The racing would be more fun to watch if they could carry a trunk full o' shine. They might drive a little more carfeully too......
Great post. Can see the incentive. I used to only drink on days that end in Y. Now I only drink on days that start with T; Today and Tomorrow. Ciao Dr. Phil Having more fun than any human being ought to be allowed to have.
Rules will be broken, fines will be levied, points will be docked, and crew chiefs will be held accountable, but NOTHING will change until they yank a team from the race. Any race. What's stupid is these guys were all guaranteed spots in the 500 anyway.
+1 Couldn't have said it better myself. Ciao Dr. Phil The first 100 years are the hardest, after that it's all down hill. Now, go take on the day!
Cheating is not restricted to NASCAR. I still remember the infamous Option 13 on Schumacher's Bennetton in 1994.
Yes, and it was 14 years ago. Where is Bennetton now? Jack Roush was once the epitomy of racing in NASCAR. Does he think he doesn't have to play by the rules like everyone else does? Victories are hollow if you have to cheat. What's the point? Ciao Dr. Phil Life is a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. How sweet it is!
Ummm...they are the reigning World Champions. I would ask the same thing of Michael Schumacher, the epitomy of F1 racing for the last 12 years.
OK. don't confuse me with details. Ciao Dr. Phil Having more fun than any human being ought to be allowed to have. Now, go take on the day!
Renaults traction controls BARs extra fuel tank Nah...these guys are beyond cheating. Famous Nascar quote; "It's our job to cheat, It's their job to catch us." Looks like everyone is doing their job.
Show me a race series without tech inspections or race officials and I'll show you one where there is no cheating.
Bending the rules or coming close to breaking them are the norm in many racing series where spec cars do not exist. It is not in NASCAR alone! In F1, various teams have attempted flexi wings (Ferrari, BMW), ballast in the fuel tank (Honda), tires that cross the regulation width during the race (Michelin), mass dampers (Renault), etc. This is what I call finding loopholes in the rule book where rules are not specific enough thereby allowing creative interpretation. Steve Matchett said something to the effect that if you are not coming close to breaking the rule you are not trying hard enough. Teams would like to exploit every advantage they can find if it means improving the lap time by 0.005 sec.
The only rule in auto racing should be that there are no rules. Who cares if Ferraris has heat-seeking missiles and Renaults can fly, it would most certainly be entertaining.
This excact thing is one of the reasons I really can't stand NASCAR. Due to the nature of the sport winners are very rarely decided by execution, skill, or strategy - rather who can bend/break the rules and get away with it. Cars win races, not drivers. I know from first hand personal experience a NASCAR team owner who held a meeting once a month within his team to openly discuss ways around the rules. Granted in any and every other form of competition players and teams look for ways to get an advantage. Bicycle riders doping, Baseball players using corked batts, hockey goalies using oversized pads. However in a sport like NASCAR these illiegal advantages really give entrants an advantage over the others. Road racing puts the competition back in the hands of the racers and this is why Jeff Gordon has been so dominant on road courses, he's a better driver! Hopefully they can sort something out to make the racing more about the racing rather that what takes place behind closed doors. Cheers
The problem with all racing is that there won't be any racing car or racing boat to be the fastest under the premises of the rules. The good one's just don't get caught, because they are good enough to go around. Unfortunately BTST, therefore not as a winner, honestly not BTDT Even more problem there is with the sports with physical performance, then it is not only unfair but also unhealthy... If you consider all the famous F1 or other drivers, who race same time 'mano to mano' on the track it is so unpleasant to find out the tricks they've used during their winning years... The time makes the memories goldened. Such a great drivers as Ayrton and Juan-Manuel weren't out of this issue either. And there in Nascar was this a 'last round bull-dozer' Sr. Earnhardt etc. Hey, but best will win and the unfortunately even the fair people dies
You talking about F1? There were 36 races last season in the Nextel Cup series. Race winners: Kasey Kahne (6 wins) Jimmie Johnson (5 wins) Tony Stewart (5 wins) Kevin Harvick (5 wins) Matt Kenseth (4 wins) Greg Biffle (2 wins) Denny Hamlin (2 wins) Jeff Gordon (2 wins) Kurt Busch (1 win) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1 win) Kyle Busch (1 win) Jeff Burton (1 win) Brian Vickers (1 win) 13 different drivers for 36 different races. That's basically a new winner less than every 3 races. What about F1? 18 races, 5 winners: Alonso (7 wins) Schumacher (7 wins) Massa (2 wins) Fisi (1 win) Button (1 win) A lot more parity in the Nextel Cup with the cars being more similar. In F1, if you don't have one of the fastest two cars (sometimes a 3rd, like McLaren, but not in 2006), you have no shot. Only if there's something huge happening like Alonso's wheel nut coming off allowing Button to take the lead. Cars win F1 championships. Michael would never have won the 2004 championship in the Minardi let alone win a race.
Yes, so called stock car races are for sure more equal, because, under those technical rules it is very difficult to go far out of reach. The character of the F1 is to be a technology advantage sport (has always been, since 50ies). Therefore the winning driver must have also other qualities in his character, not only driving and racing skills. Even if I highly respect my own national F1 drivers as a driver (Sr. & Jr. Rosberg, Häkkinen, Räikkönen etc.) I must admit that MS proved to be multitalent in F1-concept. Not only he did it twice with different team, but he also was reworking the years in the bottom muds struggling Ferrari F1 team to be one of teh winning teams since early 80ies. The great part of building the winning concept is not only to be the best himself in everything, but to be a person to gather right kind of skillful persons around him. The team. I'm not evaluating any motorsport compared to the other, they all need different combination to win. You always can say MS is not a fair sportsman fellow (everyone has right to their opinion), but also everyone must admit that MS has that ability to create the whole winning package around him. His own talent included.
Back to these sneaky stock car guys. Those 4 have been dealt with. What remains is Michael Waltrip's start-up Toyota team. NASCAR seized parts and sent them to Charlotte for further analisis, then after qualifying impounded his car. They are to announce his penalty this PM.
I believe they just said his crew chief has been suspended "indefinitely". They talked about a gel substance found inside the intake that increased the octane and allowed them to run a higher power level than competitors.
Hmm...just now on ESPN2 they said the new manifold on the Waltrip car also had the substance form on it while running (it was clean before running). Now they're thinking it had something to do with the fuel lines or something. Very strange.
Those sneaky foreigners cannot be trusted. I was surprised NASCAR let the "yellow peril" in the show. It will be interesting to see how the good ole boys take it when Toyota has some success on the track. Phil Not Hill aka Dr. Phil the first 100 years are the hardest, after that it's all down hill. Now, go take on the day.
