Harvick, Burton had performance advantage (Speed reports RCR Cars have trick wheels, but RCR denies)

Fox Sports ^ | 18 Sep 2006 | Speed Channel

[commish]

On 'The SPEED Report,' Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on SPEED, SPEED NASCAR reporter Bob Dillner reported that the winner of the first race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup and his Richard Childress Racing teammate had a performance advantage.

As darkness falls upon New Hampshire International Speedway, we have learned that there was an issue with the winning car of Kevin Harvick and also his teammate, Jeff Burton, in postrace tech.

That issue surrounded the actual rim of the race car. The team apparently manipulated that rim to act as a bleeder valve to release air pressure from that rim. In English, it was a performance advantage for the RCR team.

Now, it was not against anything in the rule book so there won't be any fines or points penalties later on this week, but they have been told not to do it again. So the question is: will it ruin or hurt the performance of the team in the last nine races of the Chase?

[commish]

NASCAR steps in and takes toys away from another Chase contender just as they did with Hendrick Motorsports "trick" Shocks last year.

The Wheels RCR was using are NOT ILLEGAL, but in NASCAR speak they "Are not within the spirit of the rules".

[CSM]

"Now, it was not against anything in the rule book so there won't be any fines or points penalties later on this week, but they have been told not to do it again."

Well, NASCAR should step up to the plate and make them illegal. Ingenuity within the rules should be rewarded, not chastised. When did NASCAR become a Democrat organization?

[TexasCajun]

That issue surrounded the actual rim of the race car

Are they talking about the wheel rim?

[longshadow]

This is the F1 "mass damper" situation with Renault all over again.... there was no rule against it, so the F1 brass arbitraily ruled that it was a "moveable aerodynamic device," which are forbidden.

[UNGN]

Some of the "trick" stuff they try can end there day (or a driver's career) just as easy as put them in the winner circle, so NASCAR has to be wary of some of the "great ideas" crews come up with.

I have seen steel parts made out of aluminum (to the exact size and shape of the steel piece) and painted black to look like steel used for things like tie rod adjuster sleeves.

For saving 1/2 a pound, you have a steering assembly that might as well be made of glass, because one tire rub and it's broke.

[commish]

Are they talking about the wheel rim? Yes.

What they did was laser cut a small hole in the rim to allow air to escape (basically the same effect as a slow leak in a tire). As the cars go around the track the tires build up pressure in them which results in less grip on the track, this small slit allows some of that pressure to bleed off, which allowed the RCR cars to maintain grip on the track much longer than the other teams were able to.

This modification was of no help over short runs, but on the long runs it probably gave the RCR cars much better traction (IE Handling), and also allowed thier tire to last much longer.

[Tallguy]

Double-secret probation?

[Sax]

Like the metal gasket some teams were using on restrictor plate tracks. The gasket under the carb would somehow warp when heated allowing the engine to suck more air (air the plates were meant to restrict) through the tiny gaps that were created around the gasket, making more horse power.

[commish]

This report is apparently untrue. Below is a press release from RCR Racing. NASCAR officials also have said that Harvick and Burton's cars were not found with these parts.

Admin Mod - you may want to put a disclaimer in the title.

The following is a statement from Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), regarding allegations in the media after the Sept. 19 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway that two of RCR's teams had manipulated the rules: "Reports in the media, specifically on SPEED TV, that one or more of our NEXTEL Cup Series teams was found by NASCAR to be manipulating the rules yesterday at New Hampshire International Speedway are false and misleading. Our cars passed post-race inspection and officials at NASCAR assured us last night and again today that no one from RCR was told at any time not to bring a part back to the race track. The reported events and conversations did not happen. Our focus remains on two of our teams competing for the championship and the other finishing as high in the points as possible."