NASCAR Cheating??

[derby]

for those of you that don't know:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Yunick#Automobile_racing

As with most successful racers, Yunick was a master of the gray area straddling the rules. Perhaps his most famous exploit was his #13 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle, driven by Curtis Turner. The car was so much faster than the competition during testing that they were certain that cheating was involved; some sort of aerodynamic enhancement was strongly suspected, but the car's profile seemed to be entirely stock, as the rules required. It was eventually discovered that what Yunick had built was an exact 7/8 scale replica of the production car. Since then, NASCAR required each race car's roof, hood, and trunk to fit templates representing the production car's exact profile. More recently, these templates represent an agreed upon "specification body" that has minimal connection to a production car's profile. The shape has been developed with extensive wind tunnel testing to "level the playing field" across several manufacturer's products.

[DucPete]

It was eventually discovered that what Yunick had built was an exact 7/8 scale replica of the production car.

OMG, that is absolutely AWESOME!!

[derby]

OMG, that is absolutely AWESOME!!

read the rest of that link... that wasn't his only rodeo.

[DucPete]

read the rest of that link... that wasn't his only rodeo.

Wow, he was definitely innovative.  His quote that "everyone else was cheatin 10 times worse" still hits home today.

I think there are few that would say it's a clean sport.  And I think that says something about human nature.  When it's on the line people will do wrong in order to advance themselves.  And people may be honoring the words of the agreement, but not the spirit of the agreement in sport.

It's sad how greed so often gets in front of doing the right thing. 

[Monsterlover]

I read once that to circumvent fuel cell capacity restrictions he took advantage of no rules on fuel line size.  So he ran 1-1/2 fuel line from back to front gaining gallons of extra fuel

Love it.

[PizzaMonster]

“That was a really poor, foolish decision on the part of our key guys,” J.D. Gibbs said. “A couple guys chose to make a decision there that really impacts all of us.”


Only foolish 'cause his boys got caught doin' it!      

The recent philosophy of Nascar has pretty much been "we will make the cars as even as possible even if it means handicapping the best".  What else did they expect the team to do?  But as long as the show looks good from the stands............

[LA]

Yea, Yunick has been a hero since I was a kid and that's a long time ago.

LA

[Bigbore4]

Don't know if it's true or myth, but here's my favorite Smokey story.  Apparently while there was a rule that did not allow port polishing, there was nothing said about painting them with high gloss enamel.

[Monsterlover]

I've heard that too.

Awesome.

[Randimus Maximus]

They got hit with some pretty stiff penalties.  JGR also has suspended the crewmembers involved.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Joe Gibbs Racing has suspended two Nationwide Series crew chiefs for the remainder of the season in the wake of penalties handed down by NASCAR after rule violations were discovered by inspectors prior to post-race testing on the chassis dynamometer Aug. 16 at Michigan.

NASCAR announced that seven crew members -- including No. 18 crew chief Jason Ratcliff and No. 20 crew chief Dave Rogers -- have been placed on indefinite suspension.

• Both of the drivers -- Joey Logano of the No. 18 and Tony Stewart of the No. 20 -- have been penalized with the loss of 150 championship driver points and placed on probation until Dec. 31. Joe Gibbs, owner of both of the cars, has likewise been penalized 150 championship owner points for each of those entries.

• Both crew chiefs -- Ratcliff and Rogers -- have been fined $50,000 and indefinitely suspended.

• From the No. 18 team, car chief Dorian Thorsen, engine tuner Michael Johnson, and crew member Toby Bigelow have been placed on indefinite suspension.

• From the No. 20 team, car chief Richard Bray and engine tuner Dan Bajek have been indefinitely suspended.

• In addition, the entire Nos. 18 and 20 Nationwide Series teams have been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

[Kopfjager]

NASCAR hasen't been fooling around this season. That'll sting a bit.