W
Ward Burton
Guest
NASCAR.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- NASCAR has returned part of Tony Stewart's Chevrolet that was impounded on March 28 after failing a technical inspection.
John Darby, NASCAR's Winston Cup director, said Joe Gibbs Racing was allowed to retrieve the chassis and engine from the car. The car was seized after its body measurement specifications failed inspection before practice for a race at Texas Motor Speedway
NASCAR will retain the body that did not meet specifications submitted by General Motors for the 2003 Monte Carlo. The problems were in "the area around the back of the car, back window to back deck," according to NASCAR president Mike Helton.
"We met with the teams in September of last year and clearly laid out to them what our goals and objectives were in regard to construction of the bodies and inspection process for the '03 season," Darby said.
"We have a tremendous amount of support in the garage for these objectives -- of which the specifications and body types are very critical for NASCAR's aerodynamic goals and direction -- and this was done in support of all those teams who are doing it correctly."
NASCAR had never impounded an entire Winston Cup car, although it often seizes illegal or unapproved parts and displays them for other teams to see.
During the 10 weeks NASCAR held the car at its research and development facility in Concord, N.C., it was checked against templates and remeasured, as well as undergoing a full-body digital scan.
The Winston Cup inspection process has been more stringent this season with the adoption of a set of templates for all four makes of cars competing in NASCAR's top series.
Stewart, the defending Winston Cup champion, had never driven the car. The Gibbs team has insisted there was no intent of wrongdoing and there were no other penalties by NASCAR.
