Cheating in NASCAR
October 23rd, 2008 | by RacingWin |
How To Stop Cheating in NASCAR
The only way to stop cheating in NASCAR is to start parking cars and drivers.
If you’re caught with an illegal part on your car the entire team goes home for a minimum of one race. That includes the driver, crew, car and transporter. 
Back in the day a crew chief would tell you “It’s our job to cheat. It’s NASCAR’s job to catch us.”
Nobody is brave enough to say it today, but there is no doubt it is still going on. 4Ever3 said “it’s only cheating if you get caught.” But when you get caught today it’s a lot more than a slap on the wrist and a small fine.
Just ask Team Red Bull. NASCAR selected Brian Vickers’ No. 83 car at random to go to the NASCAR R&D center, pictured here, for a post-race inspection after Martinsville.
There it was discovered that the team’s fabricators had shaved the thickness of the sheet metal on the car, allowing weight to be positioned low and left on the car. Believe me that would have made a huge advantage at a flat short track like Martinsville.
Crew chief Kevin Hamlin and car chief Craig Smokstad have been sentenced to NASCAR’s version of the electric chair - indefinite suspension. Plus a $100,000 fine.
Only a reprieve from Governor Helton can save them now.
But the No. 83 team is just the one that got caught. How many more teams do you think were guilty of the same thing, but didn’t get called for a random inspection?
This incident is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s plenty of cheating going on at every race.
It’s like driving down the interstate at 90 mph. For every person you see on the shoulder in front of the blue lights, there are 100 more cruising by unchecked.
Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Scott Riggs, Michael Waltrip and Elliott Sadler are just some of the drivers who’s cars have been found with illegal equipment. Their teams have all been fined and their crew chief’s have been suspended.
If you park Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or Jimmie Johnson for using illegal parts then most cheating will stop. But I doubt this will eliminate 100% of it. The penalties would have to escalate for repeat violations.
After all, there are 43 teams on the track, and only one NASCAR.
Every one of those teams has dozens, if not hundreds of employees. Some of the best and brightest engineers, mechanics and techs who do nothing but specialize in things like tires, shocks, engines and aerodynamics.
Who do you think has the advantage when it’s 43 to 1?
There are ways to cheat in NASCAR that you and I have never thought of. But you can bet there is someone who is doing nothing but thinking of it day and night trying to come up with a creative way to make more speed.
What do you think is going on that we have never thought of?
42 Responses to “Cheating in NASCAR”
By luvracin goose on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
now 43 teams and only one nascar . you need to go to a live event nascar matches or out # the teams .
In ASCS Sprints get caught lose a championship!
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By Karen Waltrip on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
The cheating has been going on from the 1st day and will always be there.
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By Wayne Powers on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Ok, here we go. Someone said it yesterday. Let Nascar build the cars and hire the teams to do the best with the cars they can. No!! that would never work. Lets see, do a pre-race inspection of the cars that would be as strigent and the post-race inspection, no that wouldn’t work either, to time consuming. Ok how bout making the teams set out when they are caught with an infraction. Let the driver stay with the car and race it under a different crew chief and crew. Its not the drivers fault the cars are not legal so why fine or dock them points. Who knows what the Nascar Gods will come up with next, like going under the yellow line, wow what a bum call that was, but you have to concider who the driver was who FORCED the little guy down below the line. Wow, come on kids, Lets Play Far for everyones sake.
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By Pops on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Personally I don’t think it should be legal for NASCAR to act like judge and jury the way they hand out fines and penalities. They are not a court of law. They could park a entry for being illegal but not take a crew chiefs pay for a couple years over the same infraction, that would have to be done in a court of law where the defendant has a lawyer representing him.. NASCAR claims they put the money taken from the teams and puts it back into the Awards and banquet..willing to bet if the IRS checked only a small portion goes there..the rest makes the Frances even richer.
What NASCAR does is more illegal in my book..than anything the teams can do to a race car !! We tried to get a union in over 30 yrs ago to help teams have a say with legal representation and NASCAR banned those involved from their tracks..so that too should show their illegal intent!
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By UNKJIME-stlmo on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
It’s all in the game. A lot has been learned by playing the game,some good,some not so good,it’s the Game we Love. You gotta admit a lot of it is clever and that’s the way is is. At least I get a big ha ha. NASCAR get over it,stop crying, this is nothing new.
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By Mary on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
There has been cheating since day 1 in racing, as Richard Petty said, ‘ If you aint cheat’n you aint trying’!!! As far as Parking Dale JR or JJ that certainly will not stop it…only pizzzz off a lot of fans and Nascar cannot afford to loose anymore fans! If you notice…the Toyota teams have came out with some clever stuff this year..and since Gibbs got caught in Nationwide…NO Toyotas has won since, and certainly not Kyle Bush..makes you wonder about those amazing 8 wins earlier this year huh???
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By OBie on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
NASCAR should ban the cheaters from the teams but put them on the payroll as inspectors. Of course, there would always be doubt about trusting a cheater.
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Evelyn Reply:
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
If you took the cars that were caught cheating there wouldn’t be any to race. Nascar has to do something to make up for all they have done to mess up racing. Just let them race.May the best driver win!!!
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By Bruce on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Let’s put the “Stock” back in Stock Car racing, but keep the safety factors; with all the detailed regulations you may as well turn NASCAR into a 43 “boxcar” version of IROC.
As to the Vicker’s infraction,”thinning” the sheet metal is a safety issue, maybe they should or do check the thickness of the roll cages, more safety; otherwise let’s get some innovation and imagination back into the sport.
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OBie Reply:
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I agree Bruce. The cars that are raced are by no means a representation of the “stock” cars on the street.
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By kc97drvr on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
I have gone to Fontana for over 5 years spending on average $1200 for myself and my wife each time we go. I did not go to the ‘07 nor the ‘08 races because of Nascars constant hassling the teams and drivers. Fontana is hurting for attendees and this is one of the reason why so many tracks have open seats and constantly advertise. It’s a RACE. Let the best win. Hi-Def TV is fine for me…………
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By Don on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
The best way to stop it is to sit the cheaters out for a race and dock them enough points to get their sponsors involved. enough points where they wouldn’t stand a chance of making the chase or ever making the top 35, this way the sponsor will think twice before he spends more money on a bunch of cheaters. the only thing worse than a cheater is a liar.
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OBie Reply:
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
How about making the cheating team race but without the sponsor logos on the car. That should get some attention!
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OBie Reply:
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:43 pm
By the way, the only thing worse than a liar is a thief then a cheat in my book!
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By carroll hunt on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
There will always be some cheating, but having to sit out a race or two depending on the seriousness of the infraction, will certainly curtail most of the cheating. Cash fines to a race team is a big joke. Sitting out a race will get their attention. Nascar MUST apply these fines fairly, their past record has a real cloud of suspicion hanging over their head.
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By Helen on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
No matter what nascar does teams willalways cheat always have always will not saying its right but what more can you do without losing fans?? You can’t sit drivers out because we pay too much money to see these guys race!!
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By DOC CAREY on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
I’m 79 YEARS OLD; I PESNALLY knew BIG BILL FRANCE, PETTYS’* KING & DAD; EARNHARDTS’* SENIOR & DALE; ALL THE FLOCK BROTHERS ( FROM MY HOMETOWN ATLANTA ); AND MANY, MANY MORE OF THE WONDERFUL RACERS / OWNERS OVER THE YEARS!
IN MY HUMBLE, BUT KNOWLEDGEABLE OPINION, THE CURRENT GANG ON FRANCES HAVE NOT ONLY TAKEN AT LEAST 25 YEARS OFF OF MY NASCAR, BUT THEY ARE SO DAMN MONEY HUNGRY THAT THEY HAVE TRULY RUINED THE SPORT OF ‘STOCK CAR RACING’
I AM 1,000% FOR EACH & EVERY SAFETY RULE AND REGULATION: SAFER BEARER WALLS; HANS DEVICE RULES; SAFETY SUITS-GLOVES-SHOES AND SUCH; AND SUPPORT ALL DECISIONS TO MAKE IT SAFER FOR THE DRIVERS!
BUT MY FRIENDS, IF THE FRANCE FAMILY COMPLETELY TAKES OUT ALL THE COMPETATIVE/INNOVATIVE SPIRIT OF THE OWNERS, THEIR CREW CHIEFS, THEIR THINK TANKS! WHERE WILL RACING / NASCAR BE!!!
I PRAY THAT HELTON SEES THIS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IS TRULY INTERTESTED IN OUR SPORT, WILL TALK TO ALL HIS PEOPLE TO TRY AND SAVE THE RACING I HAVE KNOWN FOR 50+ YEARS!!!
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Donna Reply:
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Amen! I agree with you Doc.
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SHERRY TRENT Reply:
October 24th, 2008 at 12:45 am
i agree with doc to bad dale sr is not with us things could be better, thanks sherry from alabama.
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By DOC CAREY on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
DOC CAREY APOLOGIZES FOR HIS POOR TYPING; BUT, REQUEST ANY / ALL WHO WANT TO REPLY / COMMENT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO!!!
THANK TO ALL WHO SUPPORT THE RACING SPIRIT OF
N A S C A R !><!!
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By Curtis Newman on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
This may get the cheaters attention. If the car is illegal, let them race and collect their proper winnings but don’t allow the car or owner any points for that race. The fans will still be able to watch their favorite driver and the sponsor will still get it’s name on the car and if the sponsor likes supporting a cheater he will stay but it’s doubtful they will.
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By bILL wRENCH (NOT KIN TO Mr. GoodWrench) on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Go to a car dealer and see if you can buy a STOCK CAR like they race in Nascar. Let them race what they bring, do away with all points, lucky dog lap,but keep up the safer walls. If there is a problem on the track, let the drivers fight it out like they did with the old nascar drivers and make the crews stay out of it.Fine the crews if they get involved. The man that wins the most races thru out the year is the winner. The Nascar Officals has taken the fur out of racing
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By BadFast Brad on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Back in the Day if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying.
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By Frank Carlton on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Well, let me open my big mouth about the cheating and one other thing. They are going to cheat. I’ve followed this sport for 44 years and there has always been cheating. he solution really is simple - PARK “EM when you catch them. Is anybody naive enough to think that $100,000 means anything to a team with a $6mm/yr budget? What about points lost? Thats punishment!!
Unfortunately, NASCAR has orchastrated the racing to the point where I (and millions of others) don’t care whether we watch it or not. “The Car Of Tomorrow” is a sick joke and has made racing a sick joke.
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By mc klinger on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
get rid of the random inspection,nascar needs to monitor the speeds of all cars during the race,cars that seem to be 2-3 mph faster than the rest of the field,during greenflag runs,and especially during long green flag runs,need to be logged and tagged for the total inspection,cause sometimes just picking the top 10 or 5,would be inaccurate,due to circumstances of pit work,or just luck,cause sometimes the fastest car doesnt win,unless its the 48 team,i am telling you watch his lap times and speeds at nascar.com-pitcommand on racedays, many times he has super car,and he always turns his fastest almost qualifying speed at the end,even on old tires,he also drives looking in the mirror letting off to let it look good for 2nd place,i am dead serious i watch where hes on the gas,how much brake,when he brakes,how inconsistant his lap times get when he wants it to look good,trust me,i dont have television and i watch the info on pitcommand like it was porn,i wish they would add tire temps to the telemetry somehow and pressures,cause when nascar or goodyear want him to win his stuff is on another level
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By Lana Pence on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
I haven’t heard much about this Red Bull incident, only on line. Could someone tell me if the 83 was suspect in the first place to merit a random inspection? It is my understanding that there are pre-race and post-race inspections on all the cars. Why did this not show up on the prerace? Would it work if Nascar announced that say 10 cars would go through an extensive inspection prior to each race and no one would have a clue which it would be or would this information be somehow leaked as most information is? Whether cheating has been done since Day 1 does not make it right. My grandmother always said a cheater never wins and a winner never cheats. The owners and crew chiefs know what the NASCAR rule book says and to try and skirt the issue should be addressed. I like a good race as well as the next person but certain teams should not have the advantage because of cheating. I don’t know a good punishment. Many of you have be race fans longer than I but I love the sport and hope to see it continue. I simply do not know what the answer is. If anyone would like to respond to my thoughts (in a nice way) I’d be happy to hear from you.
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RacingWin Reply:
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Lana, the No. 83 was chosen at random by NASCAR.
They choose at least one car from each race for a random inspection.
The top finishers at each race also go for inspection — I think its the top 3, but it may be the top 5.
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By Bob "Grampa" Blaney on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
I like the idea of taking the sponsors off the cars, driverslet ‘em cheat & run ‘em neked, no fines or suspensions. I love hearing about the cheating in detail and I bet if they disclosed on the TV shows every week how someone cheated it would regain some of the lost interest in the sport. Make them put on the car in big letters what they did, it would be like wearing a dunce hat LOL ! It would be a hoot ! Now that’s entertainment !
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OBie Reply:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I agree. Have them race a black and white striped prison looking car with the team and driver in the same colors (including the hauler). Make the teams have the expense of going to the race, the embarassment of showing up in those colors. No interviews with talk of their sponsor, no sponsor endorsements, no points, no win, no nothing except for the “look at me I’m the idiot that cheated”.
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By gw on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
ok, it is STOCK car racing,on monday the team gets a car from the showroom floor,remove seats,glass,build a rollcage,and remove the lights, that is what they should race on sunday, may the best man and car win, then it really would be STOCK car racing
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RacingWin Reply:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:08 am
It hasn’t been “stock” cars for a long, long time and I don’t look for those days to return.
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By mc klinger on Oct 24, 2008 | Reply
cheating is cheating,any performance enhancing be it through drugs or technical innovation,is still cheating,all these teams and crews are smart and inventive,there is no reason they should play dumb when it comes to working with the gray areas,they so choose mess with,NASCAR needs to get rid of the gray areas and have it all in black & white,and have penalties that have drastic results e.g-multimillion $$$ fines,massive point deductions say like 500-1000 pts at a time for any infraction,no trophy or win credit the next noncheating team gets the win,i mean come on this is professional sports they need to start treating performance enhancing for what it is,every other sport has serious consequences for enhancment so why not nascar??well to me it seems the teams that are cheating, due so because the team and driver have no talent,and they gotta do what they gotta do,and for NASCARs part they are a mutibillion $$$$ industry,they can afford to hire a bunch of ppl to do these massive inspections,create some jobs nascar!!! america is full of race and tech heads,take care of the ppl and the ppl will take care of you,cause at the rate your going ppl are just gonna start investing there time and money into other forms of entertainment,ya know who wants to see the same 2 or 3 teams win every week,where there is smoke there is fire nascar needs to open its blind eyes…..thank you
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By Larry Matthews on Oct 24, 2008 | Reply
WHAT EVER IT TAKE TO WIN BUT KEEP IT SAFE I DONT WANT TO SEE ANYBODY HURT!!!!!!!!
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By john on Oct 24, 2008 | Reply
They don’t want the cheating to stop even nascar cheats who’s is going to be a winner. Just liked 2.66 track. This is bull proffessional sport. They talk the hip and talk both sides of there month. THE 48 team got caught in daytona last year but they let him race finrd the crew chief. Hennrick owns the sport. What happen to his sickness sure made a rapid recoverly should have went to jail but he was in house arrested. THIS IS A CONTROL OUTCOME the 48 team will win the champship again. third in a row but they cheated and nascar let him win with his owner. this is why i am going to watch it no more.
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By joey on Oct 25, 2008 | Reply
If NASCAR stopped cheating Jimmy Johnson and Chad Knause would never win another race.
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Elaine Reply:
November 20th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I agree, makes you wonder what they do and how they get away with it. Seems awful funny that they never have any really serious problems unless they don’t qualify very well. That’s why I think JJ getting all those free passes by the rainouts and getting on the pole, gives them the advantage the other drivers don’t have. Something is DEFINATELY wrong with this picture.
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Stash Reply:
November 25th, 2008 at 9:28 am
When qualifying is rained out, why not draw for position by pulling a spot out of a hat.
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By Mr.Baja on Oct 26, 2008 | Reply
who will the Nascar Officals pull for on Sunday, Oct. 26th. Seems like for awhile in other races it was #18,Bush,then Edwards #99. Now Jimmie Johnson #48. Justnow who does Nascar plan to win the championship at the end of the season?????????????
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By mc klinger on Oct 27, 2008 | Reply
mr baja it was always meant for the 48 team to win the championship,to get 3 in a row,its something nascar can market and sell it needs the drama,and as for the 18 he was just nascars toyota godboy,for 2/3 of the season,toyotas sales top all manufacturers so they get the market and wins early on,they were never destined to win the championship,and edwards is just nascars version of tension to make it seem close but he wont be able to make a realistic charge unless the 48 team gets wrecked,which isnt in the script,so the winner is ………drumroll please…………….oh jimmy johnson…what a shocker,i didnt expect that to happen how about everyone else???lol
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By UNKJIME-stlmo on Nov 3, 2008 | Reply
This is really so simple.
Inspect top Five (top, bottom,in,& out).
They Cheat >>>>>> No Points.
THAT SIMPLE.
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By edith hege on Nov 9, 2008 | Reply
JUST AS I KNEW IT WOULD BE ALL ALONG.JIMMIE JOHNSON AND CHAD KNAUSE WINNING 3 CHAMPIONSHIPS BACK TO BACK.NASCAR KNEW ALL ALONG HOW IT WAS GOING TO TURN OUT,NO ONE COULD KEEP UP WITH HIM ALL YEAR ,UNTIL MAKE BELIEVE CAR TROUBLE IN TEXAS.GETTING SO SICK OF ALL THIS CHEATING IN NASCAR.
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By bruce on Dec 7, 2008 | Reply
I think your right doc.
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