Sound Off - Bowyer car fails inspection
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Reader poll
Where do you think Nascar driver Clint Bowyer will finish the season in the points chase?
- Champion
- 2-4
- 5-7
- 8-9
- 10-12
736 total votes.
Was this penalty fair for his car being out of tolerance "less than 1/16 of an inch." Post your comments below.
Bowyer's car fails inspection; he loses 150 points
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Clint Bowyer's NASCAR championship chances were crippled Wednesday when his car failed a follow-up inspection and he was penalized 150 points after winning last weekend's first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
NASCAR also fined crew chief Shane Wilson $150,000, and suspended him for the next six Sprint Cup races. Car chief Chad Haney was also suspended six races, and team owner Richard Childress was docked 150 owner points. The team plans to appeal the penalty.
Bowyer was permitted to keep Sunday's victory at New Hampshire — NASCAR does not typically strip wins and an official said the Richard Childress Racing team probably was punished enough.
"We don't consider taking away the win," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said. "If you ask some, they would consider a 150-point penalty with only nine races to go in the Chase a pretty hefty penalty."
With Sunday's win in the opening race of the Chase, Bowyer vaulted from 12th to second in the standings. The penalty drops him back to last place, 185 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.
NASCAR said the No. 33 Chevrolet from Sunday's race had been altered and did not meet its strict specifications. Neither Pemberton or Sprint Cup director John Darby would specifically address the infraction, citing RCR's right to appeal the penalty.
Darby, however, said the issue revolved around how the team had set up the body of the car.
Childress said in a statement that the penalty was handed down because the car was out of tolerance "less than 1/16 of an inch."
"We feel certain that the cause of the car being out of tolerance by sixty thousandths of an inch, less than 1/16 of an inch, happened as a result of the wrecker hitting the rear bumper when it pushed the car into winner's circle," Childress said.
"The rear bumper was also hit on the cool down lap by other drivers congratulating Clint on his victory. That's the only logical way that the left-rear of the car was found to be high at the tech center. We will appeal NASCAR's ruling and take it all the way to the NASCAR commissioner for a final ruling, if need be."
Bowyer's car passed its initial inspection at New Hampshire on Sunday, but was taken by NASCAR back to its North Carolina research and development center for a more thorough examination. It was there that NASCAR found the rear end of the car had been manipulated.
The development came a day after NASCAR called in RCR officials to warn them that Bowyer's Chase-clinching car from the Sept. 11 race at Richmond had nearly failed inspection because its back end was very close to the mandated limits. Pemberton said that earlier warning played a part in the punishment.
Although the issues on the car at Richmond and the car at New Hampshire were not exactly the same, the infractions were in the same area of the car. Childress said his team had addressed NASCAR's issues before Sunday's race.
"I am confident we fixed the area of concern and the New Hampshire car left the race shop well within the tolerances required by NASCAR," Childress said.
Speaking at an appearance Wednesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame before the penalty was announced, Bowyer said he was aware his car was under scrutiny but pleaded ignorance as to what could be wrong with the Chevrolet.
"Man, I have no idea. I show up on Friday, I bring my helmet, my HANS and I get in the car," Bowyer said. "Anything that happens Sunday to Friday, I don't know. I know we won the race this weekend and it was a lot of fun. We led the most laps and won the race and the guys work hard in the shop to bring fair, fast race cars.
"Aside from that, I don't know what's going on."
NASCAR sets very strict templates that the teams must follow in building their race cars. Although the cars are built to be equal, crew chiefs can and do make alterations in certain parts of the design for strategy and driver preference.
Teams also have historically pushed the limits in an effort to gain a technical edge on the race track. Since NASCAR ramped up its penalties for cheaters over the past several years, there have been fewer examples of blatant infractions.
Instead, teams tend to cross the line now by manipulating setups to improve handling, alter downforce, improve fuel mileage or find additional speed. It's not clear what advantage Bowyer would have gained, or if it factored into his win.
Bowyer led a race-high 177 laps, lost the lead to Tony Stewart, but stretched his final tank of gas 92 laps to win the race when Stewart ran out of fuel right before the final lap. The victory snapped an 88-race winless streak for Bowyer.
RCR has two other cars in the Chase. Kevin Harvick, who moved up to second in the standings, 45 points behind Hamlin, after Bowyer's penalty, and Jeff Burton, who is ninth in the Chase.
slimbolen99 (anonymous) says...
Hey folks, join our "NASCAR Fans Revolt" page on Facebook that we have going. We're going to send NASCAR a message.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Nasc...
September 23, 2010 at 8:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
As much as I hate to see this happen, you are either in tolerance or your not. Its not horseshoes...close doesn't count. Having said that however, if the tolerance was altered post race and can be proven then we can all keep our fingers crossed for the appeal. I hope it can!
September 23, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tossedcat (anonymous) says...
A 16th of an inch Someone tell the nascar official you tilted your head the wrong way!!! Most tape measures don't even have a 16th on it. If it comes up again, take a torch apply heat then apply a cold wet rag and it will shrink!!!! Just trying to help brother!!!! That really sux!!! I wonder how brad's car was not out of tolerance when if got t-boned after Edwards said HELLO
September 23, 2010 at 9:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
He has brought dishonor to us all. He's the best Emporia has to offer? Great, now our town has one more thing to be ashamed of. :-)
Give him a break. It's just a game, folks. Sometimes you have press your luck with the officials. Everyone does it in all sports.
'enry
September 23, 2010 at 11:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Car passed pre-race inspections, it passed post race inspections at the track. Someone higher up decided that was not good enough so Nascar hauls it secretly back to NC where their inspectors find it 1/16th of inch too high at the spoiler? Keep in mind that the fuel tank was completely empty at the track following the race, the tires were still hot(higher tire pressure due to the heat would have made the car taller), yet days later the car was 1/16th of inch taller than it was at the track?
If you cannot recognize how Nascar is manipulating the rules and pulling rabbits out of their ears to shape how the Chase will come out, then you must be one of those morons that believe WWF is real.
September 23, 2010 at 11:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
3rdperson (anonymous) says...
Bowyer is a driver not a mechanic. That would be why he hasn't been suspended or fined. DUH!
September 23, 2010 at 12:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
tossedcat
I believe what we are talking about here is measured with a template not a tape measure.
September 23, 2010 at 1:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
NASCAR officials will have flying monkeys coming out their backsides in 3...2...2 1/2...1..
September 23, 2010 at 1:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Jaygotout (anonymous) says...
NASCAR is a stupid sport,and a total waste of resources.Let's waste millions so 1 guy can inflate his ego this weekend.Those cars burn gas at the rate of gallons per minute.Future generations will view us as idiots for allowing this to take place.But that's Emporia's biggest problem...you just can't fix stupid.
September 23, 2010 at 1:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
C' mon people, Sports nowadays has become big business, and professional sports is the Biggest Business of all .
The bottom line is all that matters in big business, Period .
Thats why I am not a big or avid sports fan ( Nut ). Noone, even the athletes who are involved in professiional sports, are not in it for the love of the game, the comradery, or the " thrill " of competition of the sport . Its all about the money now-a-days and thats the bottom line.
And thats why rules are changed, followed or not followed.
September 23, 2010 at 1:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oh4theluvof (anonymous) says...
Yeah, Jaygotout. NASCAR is an Emporia thing.
Where there is big money, you will find big corruption.
September 23, 2010 at 3:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
This might even be a lack of standards from the track to the Tech center.12" trackside might be 11.940" to 12.060",depending on if it's a sunny day or not.If they can certify their standards,they need to be just as rough on every other car entered.The car was good before,and good after.That tells me the inspection methods were faulty,even if the car was built a shade high.
September 23, 2010 at 3:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hawks422 (anonymous) says...
I can agree with methusla about big money & big business infiltrating sports & therefore it wouldn't shock me to see some jake off from NASCAR tweak the car a hair because Clint isn't a big name as say Jimmy Johnson or Tony Stewart is & NASCAR couldn't have someone without a big name winning the Cup because doing that would cost NASCAR millions in revenue. So they will do everything in there power to tilt the table in their favor. If this decsion isn't reversed I'm outta of the business of watching NASCAR...they can shove it!
September 23, 2010 at 3:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
HenryVIII (anonymous) says...
neighbor,
The WWF IS real and their cause is just. (http://www.wwf.org/)
How dare you question their validity!
'enry
September 23, 2010 at 3:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eiggohp (anonymous) says...
The car tank was full and the tires were cool at the beginning of the race...and at the end, the tank was empty and the tires were hot!....that certainly would account for "less than 1/16". Clint, I hope you win this one and your points will be restored!
September 23, 2010 at 5:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rabblerouser (anonymous) says...
I also heard that he was pushed with a wrecker after the race. Can you say "1/.16" lift"! I'm sure that if it had been one of the big boys they wouldn't have been so severe! Like someone said " None of the cars in this garage is 100%" Clint must have ruffled the wrong fethers.
September 23, 2010 at 6:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rabblerouser (anonymous) says...
WELCOME, N.C. (September 22, 2010) -- The following is a statement from Richard Childress, president and chief executive officer of Richard Childress Racing, regarding NASCAR’s penalty on the No. 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team after last week’s race in New Hampshire:
“First of all, I’d like to apologize to our sponsors, our fans and everyone at RCR for the situation that has resulted from this ruling. RCR has a long-standing reputation of integrity on and off the race track. We pride ourselves on working within the rules established by the sanctioning body.
NASCAR informed us after the Richmond race that we were very close to their maximum tolerances. They also told us they were going to take our New Hampshire car to the NASCAR Technical Center after that race. It doesn’t make any sense at all that we would send a car to New Hampshire that wasn’t within NASCAR’s tolerances. I am confident we fixed the area of concern and the New Hampshire car left the race shop well within the tolerances required by NASCAR.
We feel certain that the cause of the car being out of tolerance by sixty thousandths of an inch, less than 1/16 of an inch, happened as a result of the wrecker hitting the rear bumper when it pushed the car into winner’s circle. The rear bumper was also hit on the cool down lap by other drivers congratulating Clint on his victory. That’s the only logical way that the left-rear of the car was found to be high at the tech center. We will appeal NASCAR’s ruling and take it all the way to the NASCAR commissioner for a final ruling, if need be.”
September 23, 2010 at 6:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
I might be wrong, but I douth it... The measurement is NOT from the ground to the top of the wing or somewhere on the body. I believe the measurement is probably from the bumper or top of the frame to a location on the rear of the body, a measurement that would not be affected by tire pressure, full or empty fuel tank.
I would like to know what would happen if he was to be involved in an accident and the rear of the car was damaged, how would they check for torrences then.. maybe one of you NASCAR experts could answer that question, thanks in advance...
I do hope that RCR will overcome the stupidty of such NASCAR anal ideas and rules such as this, it would help all drivers, not just Clint, Let them race fools(NASCAR)
oh, some rules can not be forgiven, for those of you who would love to tell me that
September 23, 2010 at 8:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oops (anonymous) says...
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
September 23, 2010 at 9:08 p.m. ( permalink )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
justaflushaway,I just read an article that went into it a bit more and I think you're real close.Green,yellow,and red stripes on a stick is all they use at the track! Possibly a given point that determines the orientation of the body and spoiler to the frame.
I've used layout and stake tables to build machinery subassemblies before.But I have to plead ignorance to the gauges and templates these folks are using.I still think it's a double standard involved the more I read about it.
September 23, 2010 at 10:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Ah, I long for the good ole days of " Stock Car " racing, when basically the only rule was, the car you raced had to be a car that the common ordinary " Joe " could go to the auto dealer show room and buy or order and there had to be a certain number of these cars made available to the general public. These races of " Stock Cars " was called " Grand National Series " and there were all sorts of makes in these races, Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs, Chevys, Fords, Dodges, Plymouths and even a Rambler or two .
Now that was some real real racing .
NASCAR, stands for, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.
These so called Stock Cars that are raced in todays NASCAR show, are about as close to being a " Stock " car as the Space Shuttle is to a " Piper Cub " airplane !
Instead of NASCAR it should be renamed to NAOCBRC, " National Association Of Custom Built Race Cars, because that is what these cars, machines are, everything on or in them is custom built from the ground up and from front to back. Nothing Stock about them . The only thing that is stock on them are the model names, Ford, Chevy, Toyota and Dodge, that is the only " Stock " part about them.
September 23, 2010 at 10:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
That's because they are under the influence of Liberals too.
They had to make the sport "fair" so everyone could have a chance to play and win instead of only the best and fastest cars.
:)
September 23, 2010 at 10:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I don't think what we are talking about here is measured with a stick. If that were true the measurement could be affected by dozens of hard to control variables.
From the above article......"NASCAR sets very strict templates that the teams must follow in building their race cars. " A template is a pattern or gauge used to shape or build something accurately. NASCAR is claiming the body configuration did not match the template.
Damned neighbor....those pesky liberals are everywhere any more aren't they.
NASCAR.....Southern born and bred, white, Christian, family entertainment. Now even it has fallen under the liberals insidious grasp. Where is it going to end? LOL
September 24, 2010 at 12:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
I remember a story I used to here told about I believe Junior Johnson back in the early days. It seems they didn't have a car to race for the coming Sunday so they went to a car rental place and rented one. The car rental guys were less than happy when they brought it back.. Now that is stock car racing!
September 24, 2010 at 5:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
hear----not here....
September 24, 2010 at 7:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
someone, before the day is over will blame it on "Bush" no not thr beer
September 24, 2010 at 7:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
Do you suppose that the Auto Manufacturers themselves, may have/had some influence on which type, brand name on the " vehicle " or driver wins a race or at least makes a good showing in a race ?
Seems to me back in the "60s" Ford and Chevrolet complained vehemently that Dodge and Plymouth had an unfair advantage because of aerodynamics and the " Hemi " engine and hence the rules were changed and the " Hemi " engine and the body design of the Dodge and Plymouth " superbirds " were no longer allowed and this rule change pretty much made Ford and Chevy the dominate cars for quiet a few years .
You see " Money " or the threat of the loss of " Money " has the power and abiltiy to change much in the world, even the " Sports " world.
September 24, 2010 at 8:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
You are exactly right meth. In fact I think that's when all the rule changes started that led to the homogenized, every car is exactly the same except for the name plate, cars you see today. JMO
September 24, 2010 at 9 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
After going over this more,I think this section of the car just flat wore out.It was built right,passed pre and post inspections,took a lot of temperature changes,torque,hit,and shoved.Instead of lasting a year,it was done right there.The only thing that should of happened was if they said"We're gonna have to drop this section .075-.080" before we race this car again".Should have been the end of it.
September 25, 2010 at 1:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Here's some more of Nascar's integrity showing. They took the winning car from Dover Sunday, the #48 Jimmie Johnson car, and three "randomly selected cars" to their R&D facility to be further inspected. Two of the three cars included Jeff Burton's and Clint's from RCR. Random?
September 27, 2010 at 1:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
Nope.Not random at all.
September 27, 2010 at 1:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
This morning I learned that they "only" took the motor from the #31 Burton car, not the whole car. The three cars they took were #'s 24-48-33.
September 27, 2010 at 10:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
This arguing about who cheated in a nascar race is exactly why I prefer to watch formula 1 racing . In formula 1 racing it is mostly driver skill and ability to move to the front and be a winner, instead of just strengh and a heavy right foot, the ability to " spin/take another car out ", which seems to be the order of the day at most all nascar races. As formula 1 racing involves a lot of braking, turning sharp right, sharp left , long straight aways, short straight aways, up hill, down hill, S curves, curves that are decreasing radius curves, curves that are off/negative camber curves, etc.. so there has to be a combination of not only correct set up of the cars, but also a lot of driver skill and ability and formula 1 raceing is not postponed because of rain, tires are simply switched from dry condition tires to wet condition/rain tires and the race goes on . Also since formula 1 cars are open wheeled cars there is usually no bump drafting or so called door banging at all . It is too dangerous to do such a thing .
I do watch an occasional nascar race, but I do not get overly excited about it and only when there is nothing of better interest to watch.
September 27, 2010 at 11:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kalvindale (anonymous) says...
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November 24, 2010 at 11:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )