Zastava_101

Nos. 18 and 20 had magnets to manipulate dyno numbers


http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/head...est/index.html

future9er24

They really shouldn't even be in NASCAR

Knight Rider

I wou;dnt be surprised that they have cheated a hell of a lot more times than this

Zastava_101

They've been cheating for the entire season in Nationwide series.

Cheese302

i dont think so. i think toyota is just ahead fo the game farther. to me instead of placing restrictors on the toyota engines, ford, gm, and dodge should be working on how to makre more power. This violation is terrible though. i am wondering how harsh the penalty will be.

Evil_Capri

Spec, Spec, Spec, Spec . . . . (it's coming!)

I agree with Cheese . . . I think NASCAR should have left Toyota alone in the Nationwide Series, let the others catch up . . .

Zastava_101

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 -- Jason Ratcliff of the No. 18 and Dave Rogers of the No. 20 -- 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.

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/head...ies/index.html

Moosetang

crimeny.There really is no end.

svopaul

NASCAR ended in the late 80's when they stopped racing cars you could actually buy.....now it is nothing more than Political Template racing and has lost every bit of the essence of what the sport once started out as. It has been riddled with cheating and whining about others for years now.....these guys just got caught.

Back in the day they cheated as well but it was more ingenious than what they do today and back then the faster car/better driver won. Now all they do is whine when someone else is faster.

Zastava_101

I realize what you're saying, but I also like when you don't know the winner until the end of the last lap. And back in the 1950s and 1960s a lot of times a winner was few laps ahead of the 2nd place finisher. Heck, Ned Jarrett won one race by being 14 laps ahead of 2nd place finisher.

Moosetang

I think NASCAR ended in 2001. The Intimidator died, the COT project began, the Super Teams began their massive dominance, Texaco got bought out by Chevron, etc.

stangfoeva

I have absolutely zero knowledge of NASCAR as a sport, but watching ESPN I heard about the cheating thing. Can anyone explain how they keep saying the Gibbs team cheating did not affect the race?

I understand that they were trying to manipulate the dyno reading so they could get lower HP numbers, so how does that NOT affect the race? Their only reason to cheat would have been if they were making too much power and therefore had an unfair advantage in the race. I guess they're just trying to do a little damage control, but every time I hear about this they make sure to emphasize the point "It did not affect the race."

How is that possible?

Moosetang

Because they set a precedent with Jimmie Johnson that they won't go back on. The year of his first Championship , 2006, his crew rigged a trick rear window in his car that changed it's curve and aerodynamic profile while a speed. Huge safety hazard, hugely obvious cheat, but he wasn't dinged of his finish nor of the points for it. He went on to qualify #1 for the Chase for the Cup, that he eventually won by a small margin, when with a points penalty he would have been a couple spots further down. That's the precedent for this sort of cheat, and NASCAR's sticking to it.

Zastava_101

I agree, Chad Knaus (Johnson's crew chief) has been caught cheating many times.
And they pretty much stole the championship from Jeff Gordon last year. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Gordon, but he deserved the championship last year.

stangfoeva

Thanks for clearing that up Moosetang.