NASCAR's Inspection Hit Parade Plays On

March 4, 2008

By Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins

Today’s the day we learn the fate of current points leader Carl Edwards after Sunday’s post race inspection found an unsecured oil tank box lid. NASCAR, who recently fined several Nationwide teams for similar infractions, has come under equal amounts ire and praise as of late for it’s zero tolerance inspection policy, has not wavered on it’s position since Speedweeks in Dayona last year.

While inspections themselves are nothing new, it’s apparent that the detail involved has dramatically increased to the chagrin of many teams. It’s also apparent that the inspection process isn’t going to become easier anytime soon. Having never been involved in the process itself I can only speculate as to the level of preparation teams must go through. The level of scrutiny and work undertaken to pass the inspection can be evidenced by the fact that even after more than 20 races with the new car, even super-teams like Hendrick Motors Sports are still scrambling at the last minute to make sure everything is correct. Even after hours of combing the car, checking and double checking every fitting, seam and engine part, sometimes teams still get it wrong. But with millions of dollars at stake each race weekend, the motivation to get it right the first time is only matched by the motivation to get one by the inspectors. It’s not necessarily cheating as much as it is trying to exploit a gray area to the team’s advantage. NASACR however has made great strides in shrinking the gray area, if not eliminating it all together.

One of the biggest enforcement tools at NASCAR’s disposal is hefty fines, points penalties and crew chief suspensions. While I think going one further and actually suspending the driver would be an even greater deterrent to inspection violations, I understand that having a star driver missing from the action is punishing fans and sponsors more than it is teams. It’s the same reason I’ve begrudgingly accepted the reality of the top 35 rule. If a fan buys a ticket for a race, only to get there and find out that the driver they came to support isn’t there, that fan just wasted their money and time and they certainly aren’t leaving the track with a warm fuzzy feeling about NASCAR. The same would be true if someone bought a ticket to watch the Braves play, only to get there and find out the team was suspended and a farm team will be playing in their stead.

There are exceptions to this rule of course. Egregious violations of the rules should certainly warrant a driver suspension. But on the whole, I think NASCAR is getting it right on the inspection penalties. It actually reminds me a bit of my time in the 82nd Airborne.

At least once a week we’d go on a 5-10 miles hike. While on this hike we’d carry 50-pound rucksacks, not including water. Before we stepped off on these little walks, we’d have our rucksacks weighed to make sure we had at least 50 lbs. The penalty for failing that inspection was an additional 10 pounds of weight added once our packs were brought up to the standard 50. Once we returned from the trek, the rucksacks would get weighed again. If a pack fell below the required weight, there were no points or monetary penalties. You simply put the pack back on and did the route again. It was a stiff and often painful penalty, but it served two purposes. First of all, it made sure the playing field was level. Everyone carried their load. The other purpose was a deterrent. Once you saw someone suffer the consequences of failing inspection, you made double sure your load was up to snuff. There was an incident when someone used a few extra canteens full of water to bring his pack up to snuff. During the walk, one of them had leaked and emptied. When we got back, his pack was short about 3 pounds of weight. There was no ill intent- he wasn’t trying to cheat and no one doubted it was an accident. But rules are rules, and he put the load back on and headed out for a second lap. I was no fun for him, or for anyone else- but he as well as the rest of us understood why it was the way it was. The same is true for NASCAR.

So it should come as no shock later today if the Carl Edwards points lead is short lived. While he may not get the full 100/100, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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