Cheating in NASCAR, too?!? WTF, MAN? Ain’t nothin’ sacred no more in sports!

I live and work just north of Charlotte,NC in the heart of not just NASCAR but just about all the major stock car series. I see what goes on in the shops and have heard many stories and without the strict inspections by the officials cheating the rules would be so out of hand that they just would not be able to keep a race series going. They still cheat the rules but the price for getting caught is huge compared to back in the day.

The main reason that the cars don’t really look like what you see on the street is getting all the cars to have the same safety features and also when a manufacturer comes out with a new style car that they whant to run in NASCAR they can’t have a body style that would give them an advantage over other makes.

For all of you that think that NASCAR or other racing series are just a waste of time or just don’t get it you really need to go to a race and see what it’s like to not just hear but feel 42 800+HP cars go bye at 200 mph. You would not believe the excitment and addreniline rush of standing on pit wall waiting for your car to make its pit stop (been there, done that). Or go to a small race shop and see how much work it takes to maintain a race car race after race on a limited budget with limited number of cars and a limited amount of crew.

DON”T KNOCK TILL YOUV”E TRIED IT

@scott:

Are you serious? There is almost zero top-line race organizations that practice anything other than parity racing. This includes F1 to NASCAR to the Australian V8 Supercar series. The reason is for the sponsors of course. Look at F1 a couple of years ago when Ferrari blew every other team out of the water – sponsorship dollars were threatened because the viewers and spectator numbers were on the decline, all because the sport was dominated by one manufacturer. (Of course, that wasn’t the first time something like that happened, it’s just one of the most recent and obvious.)

what i don’t get is why such a level of equality is maintained?
what’s the difference between manufacturers? wasn’t the sport originally a showcase for manufacturers to market production vechiles? sure there may be a ford fusion out there winning on the track, but tell me where i can buy a ford fusion with a 860hp pushrod V8?

might it not be more entertaining if they went back to being “stock” cars? something you could actually go and buy after it won the race? wasn’t that the point? let’s see a bunch of real fusions and camries out there for 500laps, nothing but safety equipment added.

meh, don’t mind me, i just read about the “old days” and think it was much more interesting than it is now…

Does anybody have anything constructive to say here?

The post race teardown is a tradition that goes back to the very inception of the organization. (Paul, quit reading now, you won’t enjoy this)
Early racers had a penchent for seeking that much need and saught after edge to beat out the competition. Early ‘cheats’ included sealing breather holes in the engines, shaving interior componets, and filling the frame with an extra gallon or so of fuel…
One such racer actually chose to use a lighter Plymouth a couple years old. Johnny Mantz was also practiced at racing Indy styled cars. After telling Big Bill France taht a lighter car stood a better chance at winning, France bought a Plymouth 6 cylinder for $1700.00 Johnny had hard compound indystyle tires put onto the Plymouth..During the Race, Mantz maintained a steady 70 Mph (or so) and continually lapped the race leaders when the went in for fuel. The others on the track also had a penchant for over driving the corners… Mantz won in a small underpowered car….at Darlington , September 4, 1950.
The point here is a chief Mechanic of the time, Red Vogt, was dissatisfied with the ruling. He tore down the Plymouth him self, and spent an entire night calling the experts at the Plymouth factory. Of course other than the tires, nothing was ever found. NASCAR bylaws at that time did not include a certain type of tire be used. Besides, the Plymouth was owned by France himself…

But events like that ushered in a permanent mandate that reqires winning cars be torn down to inspect for unfair advantages taken by drivers, and teams…

As for haters like Paul….Go play with your pretty pink ponies…

paul
Sep 27, 2008 11:44:38 AM

“nascar is a waste of time”……BUT Paul is a waste of sperm!!

paul
Sep 27, 2008 11:44:38 AM

“nascar is a waste of time”……BUT Paul is a waste of sperm!!

I’d be interested to learn what’s so interesting to Paul. I’m sure it’s something that everyone will just be tickled pink to read about. So go ahead and impress us Paul. We’re all ears.

just as your comment.