I think Yates is taking this a little too far...
Veteran NASCAR car owner Robert Yates said Friday that if Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus was found guilty of deliberate and flagrant cheating by NASCAR that he should be banished from the sport for life.
If Knaus merely skirted the rules, Yates added, than probation would be the appropriate punishment.
“If what he did, there was language in the rules about not doing that particular thing, then he ought to go race the Talladega Short Track the rest of his life,” Yates said of Knaus. “If the (NASCAR rule book) language covered that area … gone. Just gone forever, because that’s just stealing.”
“If (what Knaus was caught with) was a hydraulic system, or a little winch that pulls a cable so the rear-end housing … pulls his body down, outta here, outta from now on. That’s a device. That’s clear,” Yates said. “If it was a creation that was not covered by the language or intent, then I think he needs to be on probation for a while.”
Talladega Short Track is a half-mile dirt track located about a mile from Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR doesn’t race at the short track.
Knaus was ejected from Daytona 500 Sunday after NASCAR inspectors discovered he had altered a rear jack bolt to move the rear window on the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in an attempt to improve aerodynamics.
After ejecting Knaus, NASCAR sent him back to North Carolina for the remainder of Speedweeks and said that next week it may levy additional penalties, including a longer suspension and point fines.
Car owner Bill Davis suggested that Knaus and Johnson should receive a stiff points penalty. “I don’t know what the answer is. They’ve tried money, they’ve tried suspension,” said David. “To me, money’s not the answer. Send ‘em home? There’s always a guy standing in the wings. I’ve been saying this for years: If they want to eliminate this stuff, it ought to be points.
“Nothing impacts a team — a sponsor, an owner, a driver, the whole package — any more than points,” said Davis, who acknowledged that the 25-points penalties handed out in the past, including to the No. 48 team at Daytona in July 2002, haven’t worked.
“There’s some level of points that surely would get everybody’s level of attention,” he said.
Declining comment on the Knaus affair was car owner Richard Childress, who saw one of his crew chiefs, Todd Berrier, suspended twice last year by NASCAR. Berrier missed a total of 12 races in those two suspensions.
“I don’t want to get in on that. I wouldn’t comment on that,” Childress said. “I try to fight my own battles and let everybody have their own.”
Veteran NASCAR car owner Robert Yates said Friday that if Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus was found guilty of deliberate and flagrant cheating by NASCAR that he should be banished from the sport for life.
If Knaus merely skirted the rules, Yates added, than probation would be the appropriate punishment.
“If what he did, there was language in the rules about not doing that particular thing, then he ought to go race the Talladega Short Track the rest of his life,” Yates said of Knaus. “If the (NASCAR rule book) language covered that area … gone. Just gone forever, because that’s just stealing.”
“If (what Knaus was caught with) was a hydraulic system, or a little winch that pulls a cable so the rear-end housing … pulls his body down, outta here, outta from now on. That’s a device. That’s clear,” Yates said. “If it was a creation that was not covered by the language or intent, then I think he needs to be on probation for a while.”
Talladega Short Track is a half-mile dirt track located about a mile from Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR doesn’t race at the short track.
Knaus was ejected from Daytona 500 Sunday after NASCAR inspectors discovered he had altered a rear jack bolt to move the rear window on the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in an attempt to improve aerodynamics.
After ejecting Knaus, NASCAR sent him back to North Carolina for the remainder of Speedweeks and said that next week it may levy additional penalties, including a longer suspension and point fines.
Car owner Bill Davis suggested that Knaus and Johnson should receive a stiff points penalty. “I don’t know what the answer is. They’ve tried money, they’ve tried suspension,” said David. “To me, money’s not the answer. Send ‘em home? There’s always a guy standing in the wings. I’ve been saying this for years: If they want to eliminate this stuff, it ought to be points.
“Nothing impacts a team — a sponsor, an owner, a driver, the whole package — any more than points,” said Davis, who acknowledged that the 25-points penalties handed out in the past, including to the No. 48 team at Daytona in July 2002, haven’t worked.
“There’s some level of points that surely would get everybody’s level of attention,” he said.
Declining comment on the Knaus affair was car owner Richard Childress, who saw one of his crew chiefs, Todd Berrier, suspended twice last year by NASCAR. Berrier missed a total of 12 races in those two suspensions.
“I don’t want to get in on that. I wouldn’t comment on that,” Childress said. “I try to fight my own battles and let everybody have their own.”
