August 23, 2008
By Loren Dorrell
As a fan of all things NASCAR from the Craftsman Truck Series to the Sprint Cup Series, I was shocked and saddened by the revelations of major cheating by Joe Gibbs Racing in two of their Nationwide Series cars. Joe and J.D. Gibbs have always had my deepest respect and the team has been a class act ever since its debut. JGR started the 1992 season with a single car with Dale Jarrett behind the wheel, finishing 36th in his first Daytona 500; a race DJ would win just one year later.
After Jarrett, Bobby Labonte became a fixture in the Interstate Battery ride and in 2000 gave JGR its first Cup Championship. Tony Stewart joined the team in 1999 and won two championships, matching Coach Gibbs’ three Super Bowl rings. When they expanded into what was then the Busch Series, JGR quickly became contenders’ week in and week out, and many fans figured it was only a matter of time until they added a NNS championship to their resume. The announcement that JGR would switch from Chevrolet to Toyota gave the new kids on the block immediate credibility after a dismal inaugural season and in 2008 JGR seemed to be leading the way for Toyota Racing Development's first championship.
When NASCAR mandated an engine rule change just for Toyota in the Nationwide Series, a lot of fans – even those who weren’t too fond of the Camry – thought it was just plain unfair; that the tests and the changes that came with them were prompted by a lot whining from the other three builders just because they were losing . It didn’t seem to matter because even after the infamous inserts were, well, inserted, Kyle Busch went out and won at O'Reilly Raceway Park anyway.
And that seemed to be that. That is, up until the post-race inspections at Michigan.
What officials found on both the 18 and 20 cars were several magnetic shims on the gas-pedal stop that amounted to a spacer that kept the throttle from going 100 percent wide-open. Now, it doesn’t take a lot of technical know-how to understand how a handful of quarter-inch shims can screw up NASCAR’s post-race dynamometer tests: if the pedal doesn’t go all the way to the stop, the engine isn’t at full power; which means less horsepower at the rear wheels – which is what the chassis dynamometer measures in the first place – making it look like the Toyotas were losing more horsepower than the new rule intended.
Somebody, and quite possibly two or three somebodys, went to a lot of trouble getting those shims into not one, but two cars – both post-race; and whether it was out of frustration or anger or whatever, the bottom line is that someone in the Gibbs organization gambled with the system and lost, big time.
The penalties, I’m sure, will be severe; but the truly sad part about this whole mess is the hit JGR is going to take to their respect, not only from the fans but from their peers as well. With NASCAR now having to spend a good deal of time and money to make sure that the other Toyota teams, irrespective of their series’, aren’t trying to get away with the same sort of shenanigans, Toyota, Inc. and TRD had better hope that the Gibbs debacle is an isolated case; their position in the sport can’t afford to take any more heat.
As far as the drivers are concerned, I know it has been a long standing NASCAR policy to share the blame and resulting punishment with everybody involved, but in this case, I seriously doubt that Tony Stewart and Joey Logano had anything at all to do with any of this; NASCAR should leave them alone.
One more point before I close: this whole cheating thing has generated a ton of finger pointing and “I told you so’s” from the “fans” that would like nothing better than to see Toyota kicked out of NASCAR in disgrace. When TRD came into the top two series’ a significant number of fans were outraged that their all-American sport was being invaded by a foreign manufacturer – and a Japanese one at that.
I will not address the obvious implications (would a British or German car gotten so much hate mail?); all that is pretty much old news by now. I was of the minority opinion that TRD would increase competition and force the Big 3 to step up their programs, and I was mostly right on both counts. Even some of the ‘Yota bashers were grudgingly conceding the point. Now all this has to happen and we’re back to square one.
I’m not going to make any excuses, cheating is cheating and it doesn’t matter who or what, but consider this: what if the situation were reversed? What if it were Ford or Chevy or Dodge that had been caught “augmenting” their equipment? Would we still be hearing shrieks of outrage? Would there even be the same indignation? Or would it be just a case of “hey, cheatin’s part of racin’, everybody does it. just got caught this time.”
I guess it’s different when it’s Toyota, right? Or when Detroit is winning. Let’s see, how many times in the past two or three seasons was Chad Knaus fined or suspended or both? But he’s not a cheater, just a great crew chief. Or so I’m told.
**Editor's note: NASCAR handed down penalties to both the No. 18 and No. 20 Nationwide teams on Wednesday. Listed below are the penalties spelled out.
NASCAR Penalizes Gibbs Entire Teams
NASCAR announced today that the No. 18 and No. 20 teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series have been penalized due to rule violations discovered by NASCAR inspectors prior to post-race testing on the chassis dynamometer Aug. 16 at Michigan International Speedway.
Both the No. 18 and No. 20 cars were found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 8-9 (competitive analysis – from time to time, NASCAR may determine, in the interest of competition, that it is necessary or appropriate to undertake an analysis of the performance capabilities of a car, car part, component or equipment. The Competitor shall take whatever steps are requested by NASCAR Officials for this purpose. NASCAR also has the right to seal or impound cars, car parts, components and/or equipment for this purpose); 12-4-Q (1): (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used that do not conform to NASCAR rules, detailed in Section 20A of the 2008 NASCAR Rule Book, or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event, or is not required for the normal functional operation of the race car, or has been altered to detract from or compromise its integrity or effectiveness, whether operational or not); 12-4-K: (when NASCAR Officials mandate inspection during the Event, if any car, car parts, components, and/or equipment which have been used in the Event are taken from the racing premises without permission of a NASCAR Official, or are tampered with by any member of the team or anyone associated with the team: Magnetic spacer attached under the gas pedal with the intent of compromising the chassis dynamometer test).
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 NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2008. 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 NASCAR.
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 NASCAR. From the No. 20 team, car chief Richard Bray and engine tuner Dan Bajek have been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR.
In addition, the entire No. 18 and No. 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series teams have been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2008.
You can contact Loren Dorrell at Insider Racing News.
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.
