If there's any truth to the age-old cheater's proverb that says "It's only illegal if you get caught," the 2013 Nascar field certainly appears to be testing that premise to its very outer limits. And Nascar, in response, is sending out a stern message of its own: They're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. And if the severity of recent penalties assessed against some of the sport's highest-profile teams is any indication of things yet to come, cheaters beware:
Your days are numbered, you "will" be caught, and you "will" pay the price.
The hammer has thusly fallen. And in its aftermath, we, the sport's loyal fans, suddenly find ourselves wondering what has taken Nascar so long to exercise the very degree of authority with which they have all along been entrusted, but which has either been altogether missing or, at the very least, highly inconsistent. And we are further left to wonder why, relative to Nascar's sudden and rather blatant display of power, so many teams nonetheless continue in their daring pursuits to "beat the system."
Just call it "pushing the envelope." Following the adage that "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'," or in the words of five-time championship crew chief Chad Knaus (well known for at least ten major rule violations and three lengthy suspensions): "It's our job to cheat. It's Nascar's job to catch us," and "It would be frustrating to give up trying to make our car better," one is left to wonder just how much farther the teams will be allowed to go before the sport and its governing body ultimately lose total credibility.
To Nascar's credit, they certainly appear to be trying to rectify the situation, but the attempt is long overdue in the eyes of the sport's loyal fan following. After all, much ado has been made in recent past over the blatant absence on their part, of the very quality by which they ultimately award championships: consistency. And furthermore, fan allegations of demonstrations of clear-cut favoritism toward the sport's more popular personalities or its more affluent team owners have given a huge black eye to the trustworthiness of those in positions of authority. And yet by the same token, many teams continue to boldly test the system in hopes that their manipulations, however bold or slight in nature, will somehow escape the watchful eyes of inspectors and officials alike. And while not exactly humorous at the time of commission, a look back at some of the biggest cheating scandals in the sport will certainly yield a few modern day laughs when weighed against the infractions of the sport's present field of drivers. Consider the following:
1. Smokey Yunick, the mechanic known in his day for taking the sport's already complicated rule book a bit "too literally." Yunick, arguably one of the most gifted mechanical engineers of his day, lived by the philosophy that "it isn't cheating if the rules don't say that it can't be done." Case in point: he once passed inspection with a fuel "tank" that conformed to all the required specifications, while manipulating the size of the fuel "line" to hold more gas, and further cheating the gas allowance by secretly placing an inflated basketball in the tank, and deflating it once Nascar cleared the tank's capacity during inspection.
2. Tim Flock found himself disqualified from a 1952 Nascar Modified event when it was discovered that his roll bars were made of painted wood. Further examples of blatant weight manipulations include drivers sneaking items made of lead or other heavy metal into the cars; for instance, Darrell Waltrip once filled his frame rolls with bb's that would spill out of a trap door when the car entered the backstretch during the race; and Rusty Wallace was once issued a hefty fine when an inspection determined that his roof flaps consisted of titanium.
3. Michael Waltrip marred Toyota's Nascar debut when his inspection uncovered a fuel additive similar to rocket fuel, resulting in massive fines and disqualification from the season opener. Mikey's response? "If you don't cheat, you look like an idiot." Really, Mikey? And what does it look like when you "do" cheat?
With respect to these "classic" episodes of cheating, alongside the modern era violations currently under investigation by Nascar or under subsequent appeal on the part of the teams involved, one is left to question whether there is a single ounce of integrity remaining in the sport, and why teams continue to test the waters when it has become unquestioningly clear that little or nothing escapes the all-seeing eyes of Nascar's inspection process. The answer? We may never know, but one thing is for certain: Nascar's appeals process is presently being put to the test like never before, and subsequent rulings now stand to set future precedents for identical or similar situations brought before the sport's sanctioning body. Will these decisions open the door for positive changes beneficial to the racing that we know and love, or will they serve to further alienate an already dwindling fan population, fed up with the alleged inconsistency and favoritism that have come to plague the modern era of the sport in ways never before imagined?
Only time will tell. In the meantime, Nascar, the ball is in your court. Play it wisely. Millions are watching.
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