June 4, 2009
By Doug Demmons
Carl Long broke the rules. That much is clear.
The engine in the car he brought to the Sprint Showdown at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was 0.17 cubic inches larger than allowed.
Long doesn’t dispute that, but he had asked that the punishment handed down by NASCAR -- 200 points, a 12-race suspension, banishment from NASCAR for 12 weeks and a $200,000 fine -- be reduced. His appeal was mostly denied Tuesday by the National Stock Car Racing Commission.
The punishment was nothing short of draconian, an apt adjective referring to Draco, a 7th century B.C. lawmaker from Athens who ordered debtors into slavery and those guilty of minor offenses to be put to death.
Carl Long’s Sprint Cup team, such as it was, has now been sent to the gallows. It’s the equivalent of swatting a fly with a sledgehammer.
The massive fine was actually assessed to Long’s crew chief, Charles Swing. Can Swing pay it? Well, Long says that when the fine was handed down Swing had to be hospitalized with heart problems. So I’m guessing he probably doesn’t have 200 large ones laying around.
The 200-point penalty? Long didn’t have any points to begin with, so he’s now at minus-200 points. If he were to come back from suspension and win a race he’d still be in negative points territory.
Assuming he stays there he’ll probably set some kind of record for lowest points total ever.
The banishment from NASCAR meant that Long, who works as a crew member on a Cup team, lost his job on the Front Row Motorsports Cup team as well. That part of the punishment was amended by the commission do that Long could work on a crew in one of NASCAR’s other series.
Long didn’t have much of a legal argument. He basically threw himself on the mercy of the court.
He argued that he bought the engine from a reputable source who had acquired it from the Earnhardt-Ganassi team.
NASCAR’s position is that the team that brings the engine to the track is responsible for it, no matter who built it. The commission agreed with that on Tuesday.
But a little over a year ago the commission rescinded most of the penalties against Robby Gordon for having an unapproved nose cover on his Dodge that had been shipped to him by the manufacturer.
An engine is not a nose cover, but the concept is the same -- both teams relied on a third party to provide parts within NASCAR specifications.
The commission also noted that the last time someone got popped for an oversized engine -- Junior Johnson in 1991 -- a 12-race suspension was handed down. True. But that suspension was reduced to four weeks on appeal.
And Long’s engine wasn’t exactly an unfair advantage. It blew up.
So, does Long deserve punishment? Yes.
Does he deserve to be run out of the sport? No.
The commission said it sympathizes with Long and noted his “strong love of racing and a desire to compete at the highest levels of the sport. His testimony came across as genuine and heartfelt.”
But then it said it could not go easy on him just because he’s a little guy in the garage.
That makes sense in a strictly legal sense, especially considering how often NASCAR is criticized for applying its rules arbitrarily. Except that its hardline against Long is itself arbitrary considering it went easy on Gordon.
But it’s mostly just lacking in common sense.
Every state and the federal government recognizes that strict adherence to criminal statutes does not always further the cause of justice. That’s why governors and the president have the power to grant pardons.
NASCAR should pardon Carl Long in the interest of justice.
Doug Demmons is a writer and editor for the Birmingham News ~ he writes daily and weekly auto racing columns ranging from NASCAR to open wheel to Formula One, local tracks and more... you can read Doug's columns online at Blog of Tommorow
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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