#48 and #5 cars 'too close' in tolerances at R&D center? Claire B. Lang reported on Sirius Satellite NASCAR Radio Channel 128 "Dialed In" show Thursday night that the #48 and #5 Chevy's teams of Hendrick Motorsports were told they cars were too close to NASCAR tolerances at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, NC this week. The cars were taken to the R&D Center after Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint Cup race at Dover in the #48 with Mark Martin finishing 2nd in the #5 Chevy. Lang says she heard the teams were told not to bring the cars back to the track. Lang asked NASCAR if this was true and was told: "The 48 and 5 were brought back to the R&D center. We've been doing this since the inception of the new car as a part of routine post-race inspection. We bring the winner and a random pick back to the R&D center after each event. While both cars passed post race inspection, we informed the 48 and 5 they were extremely close on some of the tolerances."(10-1-2009)

 

Either you are in or you are out. That's like being too close to the out of bounds on a pass reception and yet you still made the catch. It's either legal or not.

Wouldn't your job as an engineer be to get the car as close to tolerances without going over to gain an edge. I don't get statements like this. If they were told not to bring the car back to the track, well then they were illegal. It's just that simple. More favoritism.

 

I'm pretty sure both Johnson and Martin crossed the line, but NASCAR cannot fine them now. They're 1-2 in standings. That would be a disaster for NASCAR.

 

Yeah, sounds like they were on the far side of legal, but yet NASCAR decided to just say "you're to close" instead.

 

Its so obvious when the other had a hard time catching up to them and they get away on restarts

 

WOW, talk about favoritism!! Holly crap what can NASCAR do next to insure that a Chevy wins the cup.......

Absolutely pathetic in every way....You just can't be a "little" pregnant!!!

Thanks Zoran for this info....

 

I would also LOVE to see dyno results off of Johnsons engines. That car week in week out drives up to others and around them like they're on the turnpike or something. They have horsepower advantage. Its BS.

 

Either you're legal or not. They were, so it doesn't matter

 

Today Jimmie Johnson got up to an 11 second difference to 2nd place Montoya

 

Yeah, I saw it too. There's no way his Chevy has the same horsepower as everyone else.

 

NASCAR in their officiating history has never warned a team they were "too close" but still legal. So why do it now? Did they initiate a whole new officiating philosophy right now in week whateverthehell of the season? Or maybe the cars in question were in fact over the line, and NASCAR's using this to scold them about it without the scandal and bad headlines that would result from actually penalizing them? I know, baseless rumor. But then you go and watch the car in question and it makes you wonder...