Maybe because this exact same thing has been going on to one degree or another since the day NASCAR stopped demanding 100% strictly stock race cars? The non-unibody unibody Fords, the Chevy Mystery Motor, the Chrysler Hemi and the Ford SOHC, NONE of which were available in production cars, the aero cars, the Monte Carlo Aerocoupe, the Taurus body made up out of thin air, the Yates cylinder heads, the SB2, a series of Grand Prix noses that bore ZERO resemblance to street cars, the list goes on and on, and MOST of us have just learned to take it in stride. Somebody gets too far ahead, and NASCAR finds a way to slap them down. Somebody gets too far behind, and NASCAR finds a way to throw them a bone. The "aggrieved party" will protest for public consumption IF they say anything at all, because they all know next year, it might be THEM needing a helping hand. This is just the way the game is played, and if it bothers you THAT much, maybe you should find a different hobby. And once and for all, can we put all of this cost savings BS in its proper perspective? Regardless what is put out for public consumption, the manufacturer's motorsports departments will spend EVERY DOLLAR they can convince the front office to cough up in an attempt to assert dominance, and as for the team owners, this really only applies to the lower level teams. Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, Gibbs/TRD, and Gene Haas have never ONCE let a few extra dollars stand between them and a trophy. Hell, Roger Penske spent a year and MILLIONS of dollars to build an engine to win ONE race, a race he likely had a 60% chance of winning with the stuff he already had and had already won nine times before. Rick Hendrick has built an entire high class Industrial park to field FOUR race cars. As late as the late 80's, races were being won and championships were being contended for out of converted gas stations and farmer sized pole barns. That is the mentality of the people involved, and I've grown more than just a little weary of hearing about the "cost savings". All it means to me is a lot of good people will be out of work and the big teams will have more money to chase hundredths of seconds on the stopwatch instead of tenths.
