#33 penalty upheld

[SST55]

NATIONAL STOCK CAR RACING APPEALS PANEL STATEMENT:



(October 5, 2010) – Following an appeal hearing earlier today in Concord, N.C., the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer has upheld the penalty for the No. 33 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with the following revisions:



Crew chief Shane Wilson’s fine has been reduced from $150,000 to $100,000 and Wilson and car chief Chad Haney’s race suspensions have been lowered from six to four. Both are suspended from NASCAR until Nov. 3 and are on probation until Dec. 31.



The loss of 150 championship owner and driver points remains intact.



The No. 33 car was penalized by NASCAR on Sept. 22 as a result of rule infractions discovered during post-race inspection at the NASCAR Research and Development Center following the Sept. 19 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Specifically, the car body location specifications in reference to the certified chassis did not meet NASCAR-approved specifications of the 2010 NASCAR Rule Book.



“After reviewing all the data, presentation and factors involved, I am ruling NASCAR was correct in its decision to levy penalties,” said John Middlebrook, the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer who presided over the hearing. “I believe that the revisions that have been made to the penalties are consistent and fair to both parties involved.”



– John Middlebrook, National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate


Like we couldn't see this coming..

 

[VaDirt]

What a suprise!

 

[ted@economy]

Sooo the "dog ate my homework " thing doesn't work. Maybe when you take the body off it is obvious to everyone that the welds are in the wrong place.

 

[carsntunes]

No one questions the great and mighty Oz.

 

[mike honcho]

Sooo the "dog ate my homework " thing doesn't work. Maybe when you take the body off it is obvious to everyone that the welds are in the wrong place.

If the welds are in the wrong place how does the chassis PASS 4 inspections before this one.

 

[Mopardh9]

If the welds are in the wrong place how does the chassis PASS 4 inspections before this one.

Yeh i want to know that too?

 

[dpkimmel2001]

Maybe when you take the body off it is obvious to everyone that the welds are in the wrong place.

I don''t know how obvious it was but, yes, that's exactly what they had to do. It couldn't be measured at the track through the 'at track' inspection process. The engine had to be pulled, inside panels had to be removed..... The car basically had to be stripped to find the issue. I guess if it is outside the tolerance, it's outside the tolerance and they should be fined. I just think that the determination of whether or not it passes inspection for the final time should be able to be determined at the track, not behind closed doors. If they get the car back to the R&D department and find out that it was out of spec, devise a way to determine that on Sunday, not three days later.

 

[ted@economy]

True.but I think that there are things that you can do inside the engine that can't be caught at the track either. If they find something ,they have to do something about it no matter when it is.You can't just give them a pass because it wasn't caught at the track.Maybe they don't need to give as harsh a penalty,just give it to the press and let them humiliate the team.

 

[dpkimmel2001]

True.but I think that there are things that you can do inside the engine that can't be caught at the track either. If they find something ,they have to do something about it no matter when it is.You can't just give them a pass because it wasn't caught at the track.Maybe they don't need to give as harsh a penalty,just give it to the press and let them humiliate the team.

It wasn't all that long ago the engines were tore down @ the track. The R&D department is a relatively new thing. Maybe they need to get back to the basics. Determine what they can @ the track as they had for many, many years. Afterward, go ahead and take that car/engine combo back to the R&D center and find out what you missed. Use that info to enhance your inspection process @ the track. Basically, all I'm saying is, if you're going to announce them as the winner on Sunday don't turn around 3 days later and pull the points back off of them. IMO that sends mixed messages to fans and does nothing good for the sport. We're probably never going to know what the true story is behind this most recent incident with RCR -vs- NASCAR. The only side that has mentioned numbers about tolerance and out of tolerance is RCR and it's representatives. And..... even representatives of RCR don't agree with each other. There's always going to be a cloud of suspicion if this is the policy that continues.

 

[Mopardh9]

This raises the question if you took 20 of the top cars from the NH race and tore them down the same way you tore the 33, would all those cars pass? I have a sneaky suspicion that they wouldn't and I think this is a legitimate issue to be considered.

 

[dpkimmel2001]

This raises the question if you took 20 of the top cars from the NH race and tore them down the same way you tore the 33, would all those cars pass? I have a sneaky suspicion that they wouldn't and I think this is a legitimate issue to be considered.

No doubt in my mind that all of those cars put through the same scrutiny would not pass. Problem is, it would not be possible to perform that type of inspection on all of those cars. Could you imagine the logistics in doing that? The investment in materials, man power, time. I think it would further degrade the product. Every single week, penalties would be issued and this would be a never ending discussion.

 

[BobbyFord]

Richard Childress Racing Statement: The following is a statement from Richard Childress, president and chief executive officer of Richard Childress Racing, regarding the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer's final ruling on the penalty of the #33 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team following the September 19 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
"I'm disappointed that the results are not what we wanted, but I feel we received a fair hearing today. The final step in the appeals process is very good, and I can assure you we would not have taken our case to the chief appellate officer if the first step in the process had been as fair as today's. I want to thank all of the fans for their support. I'm proud to be a part of this sport and proud to represent RCR's partners. We all need to put this behind us and get back to racing. There are seven races remaining in the Chase, and Richard Childress Racing will continue our focus on winning the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship."(RCR)(10-5-2010)

 

[ted@economy]

Think about this. It is really the penalties that are the problem. Do away with them. "Boys have at it " if you will. It is really the sponsors (or lack of them) that are driving this sport. They don't want to be embarassed in public ,neither does Rick Hendrick or Richard Childress. Every week Nascar calls a press conference and holds up illegal parts . The other competitors and sponsors and fans get to see who is doing what. The risk of getting caught is a lot more than any penalty.

 

[dpkimmel2001]

Think about this. It is really the penalties that are the problem. Do away with them. "Boys have at it " if you will. It is really the sponsors (or lack of them) that are driving this sport. They don't want to be embarassed in public ,neither does Rick Hendrick or Richard Childress. Every week Nascar calls a press conference and holds up illegal parts . The other competitors and sponsors and fans get to see who is doing what. The risk of getting caught is a lot more than any penalty.

Do you think that this has affected BB&T/Cheerios/Hamburger Helper? I guess you're right, it probably has affected them in some way. For me, it hasn't. I still have to finish paying off a past truck load to BB&T. I still ate a small bowl of Cheerios as a quick snack last night. I'm not a Hamburger Helper guy so I can't comment on that. No offense to you Hamburger Helper people out there!

Those illegal parts week..... Very few and far in between. It's no where near like it used to be. Not even close.

I gotta quit snacking on those darn Cheerios though.

 

[Mopardh9]

No doubt in my mind that all of those cars put through the same scrutiny would not pass. Problem is, it would not be possible to perform that type of inspection on all of those cars. Could you imagine the logistics in doing that? The investment in materials, man power, time. I think it would further degrade the product. Every single week, penalties would be issued and this would be a never ending discussion.

So if we assume that other cars would be illegal then why then was Childress singled out? Here's what i think should be done.....every winner should be torn apart each week just like the 33.

 

[dpkimmel2001]

So if we assume that other cars would be illegal then why then was Childress singled out? Here's what i think should be done.....every winner should be torn apart each week just like the 33.

Every winner is taken back and tore apart each week. Biffles are is there now. So is the 43rd place finisher. So is a random car. Bowyer was the random car that was tore apart the week before at Richmond. That's how this started.

 

[SST55]

.....every winner should be torn apart each week just like the 33.

Nope, no way. IF the car passes pre and post race insp using Na$car's templates that's it, it's over. If you're going to dissect one car at the center, do it for all cars.
Pull and tear down the engine back at the center.

 

[SpeedPagan]

Nope, no way. IF the car passes pre and post race insp using Na$car's templates that's it, it's over. If you're going to dissect one car at the center, do it for all cars.
Pull and tear down the engine back at the center.

That's virtually impossible to do. You CAN do it, but the cost vastly outweigh the benefits. Beside, as my dad once said, in stock car racing, everyone bends the rules, everyone cheats. You just have to make sure you're not caught.

 

[Mopardh9]

Every winner is taken back and tore apart each week. Biffles are is there now. So is the 43rd place finisher. So is a random car. Bowyer was the random car that was tore apart the week before at Richmond. That's how this started.

I thought it was random on the winner too?

 

[dpkimmel2001]

I thought it was random on the winner too?

John Darby was one of SNR's daily shows explaining the process recently, after this had all started. He said 3 a week, the winner, 43rd place (S&P normally), & a random finishing position.

 

[kkfan91]

That's virtually impossible to do. You CAN do it, but the cost vastly outweigh the benefits. Beside, as my dad once said, in stock car racing, everyone bends the rules, everyone cheats. You just have to make sure you're not caught.

which is why if it passes at the track inspection it should be good no need to tear them apart

 

[dpkimmel2001]

NASTOON.....