Not 1st time Jack Roush used 'out of the box' defense.

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Not 1st time Jack Roush used 'out of the box' defense.

Roush Blasts NASCAR

Jack Roush blistered NASCAR officials for their two-race suspension of crew chief Matt Chambers for installing a seat-belt system in Kurt Busch's Atlanta car that was more than five years old. Roush said the belt was fresh out of the box, and he accepted blame for having an old product on the shelf and said he wouldn't appeal because NASCAR's appeal board consists of people working for NASCAR. "It was an absurd penalty, given the circumstances, and I feel this is another in a fairly long line of really ridiculous penalties that NASCAR has handed down," Roush said. "I believe it was a cheap shot. They took it based on the frustration they've got with all the criticism they've gotten over safety issues. They must be maddened by that. Many of the criticisms and much of the attention they're getting are not well directed; I think they're getting abused and criticized for many things that aren't their fault. But it's not my fault, and I shouldn't have to pay the price for their frustration over safety concerns." (Journal Now)(3-26-01)
 
That brings up a very interesting question.

I believe that the "evenly spaced 4 1/2 coils" rule is a fairly recent one. Like a year maybe a year and a half ago.

Is there any possibility that these particular springs are from "obsolete" inventory? They are not one of the newer super low rate springs and could have come from inventory either the manufacturer or Roush had on hand from before that ruling.
 
Good point.....I wonder how many teams are going through the shops looking at expiration dates now.
 
I bet everyone is looking for parts that are within the last 6 months, if they don't use them they will be considered scrap, because teams don't want ot be penalized.
 
Originally posted by HardScrabble
That brings up a very interesting question.

I believe that the "evenly spaced 4 1/2 coils" rule is a fairly recent one. Like a year maybe a year and a half ago.

Is there any possibility that these particular springs are from "obsolete" inventory? They are not one of the newer super low rate springs and could have come from inventory either the manufacturer or Roush had on hand from before that ruling.
Click to expand...

Just to play devil's advocate, do you really think that they're going to grab old equipment (springs, shocks, etc) for Mark Martin's car at this point in a championship battle? Seems to me w/ as much $$ as they spend in the sport, Mark would get the best and newest stuff available right now.....
 
Good point, HappyHour. It does seem like Mark would be getting the best and newest equipment considering he is second in the championship points and could have a chance to win the championship.

It doesn't make sense for them to put older equipment in a car where the driver is trying to win a championship, the best for the best, right? While it could be a mistake and nobody looked at the date on the box, it seems like something that teams would make sure they avoided. I look at the expiration date on most things, why wouldn't a team in the championship hunt do the same thing?

Since they are in the championship hunt, extra care should have been paid to such small little details because they wouldn't want a repeat of 1990. I would hope that the crew and team would have been smart enough to know to look for newer approved springs and other parts and to be extra careful considering who the springs and parts were for.

If the whole expired spring theory works out, then what is to stop others from saying similar things? With everyone saying well I took it right out of the box, how was I supposed to know it was expired. And I sincerly hope this smartens up teams looking to avoid unapproved parts and penalities.
 
One time I forgot to check the expiration date on the milk:bleh:
 
As Indiana Jones once said "It's not the years, it's the miles."

A NIB spring would remain equally "fresh" for quite a few years. Unless it was stored in some damaging environment.

Back in the 80's when Ford ceased producing Cleveland blocks, the best Ford engine builders of the day scoured the country side for every used Cleveland block they could lay their hands on. As a matter of fact a sound but well "seasoned" engine block of any make was considered superior to a new one.

I missed gettin this up when Windsor was around last night, he could likely tell ya tales if he chose. And this really has nothing in common with a coil spring, so I digress.

The likelyhood of these springs truly being "obsolete" is very very slim. But on the other hand, if you had asked me a week ago what the odds were the Viagra team would get busted for an illegal part I would have made those odds even slimmer.
 
I'm still a little leary about the whole deal. And maybe I don't understand. Ok, the spring was 1/8 of a coil too short. "Dang, we just didn't notice that when we pulled it out of the box". Would they have noticed it if the spring had been an 8th too long? I'm betting that they would have. I have to believe that they pay closer attention to detail than to let a wrong spring go on Mark's car. Just my opinion.
 
Thanks for the info, HS.

Looking back, I guess I should have used the manufactured on date or something that would at least date the part if it does get put on the box. I haven't ever worked in a garage so I don't know for sure, dates are usually put on stuff though just for good practice. Then someone, and I am just using my common sense, could look at the date, see how old the part was, and determine if it was usable. Like the Kurt Busch seat belt issue, if they had seen a date on the box and questioned whether or not they should use something that was five years old.

Asking questions like well have the rules changed in the past five years regarding this part or would Nascar really like us using an older part instead of a new approved one. And the same thing for the spring. Saying "well this part is a few years old, haven't the rules for springs changed recently, we better make sure it is fits the rules and will be approved."

I just find it strange they didn't pay more attention to the spring. Looking it over and measuring it for accuracy. Because it was going in Mark's car and if they made a mistake it could cost him the championship. They showed on Totally Nascar the approved spring and what Mark's spring looked like and even I, who doesn't know a lot about springs as is probably obvious, saw the difference. It just makes me wonder.
 
Some say NASCAR's spring tolerances are too hard to meet....

But I think they were making it easier by simply saying that the spring had to have a certain number of turns with even coil spacing and not by saying the coil spacing has to be "x" nor by saying the height of the spring has to be "y".....

Maybe they made it too simple......
 
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