Conspiracy theory of the week
Lee Spencer / FOXSports.com
Posted: 9 hours ago
While the NASCAR world awaits the ruling this week on fines and/or suspensions for a trio of Nextel Cup teams -- those of Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Michael Waltrip -- it's time to play a little game called "Conspiracy Theory."
It wasn't by accident that NASCAR zeroed in on the Nos. 9 and 17 cars of Kahne and Kenseth after Sunday's qualifying session for the Daytona 500 and disallowed the times of the two 2006 Chase competitors.
According to sources, NASCAR officials peeked under the covers of several cars on Saturday after the garage had closed for the night. "That's how the inspectors knew exactly what to look for on the cars," said a team engineer, who asked to remain anonymous.
Kenseth and Kahne qualified 11th and 28th, respectively, but will start at the back of the pack for the Duel 150 qualifying races on Thursday as punishment for infractions that involved unauthorized aerodynamic modifications to the cars. Both Kenseth and Kahne have guaranteed starting spots in the Daytona 500 by virtue of their top-35 points finishes last year.
Here's what frosts me, though: NASCAR had no problem calling out Jack Roush's team by revealing that there were holes in the wheel wells of Kenseth's No. 17 Ford, but never bothered to mention the reason for the penalty to Kahne's Evernham Motorsports car. (A source in the garage said it was because tape was coming off the oil tank cover of the No. 9 Dodge, which would allow air to vent out to the bottom of the car.)
For the memory-challenged among us, let me remind you that the "holes in the wheel well" scenario was similar to the accusation that SPEED's Bob Dillner made about the Richard Childress Racing cars at New Hampshire last year — the first race of the Chase. The report asserted that holes had been made in the rims, enabling the tires to bleed, lowering air pressure and offering better grip.
That report was quickly shot down by NASCAR.
However, when certain teams attempted to buy wheels last fall, they discovered a shortage caused by the purchase of approximately 600 rims by RCR. Hmmm, what possible reason could RCR have had for purchasing 600 new tire rims right around the time the team was being accused of drilling holes in them?
It's not unusual for NASCAR to bust an operation with a slap on the wrist and inform the team to forget about using the latest and greatest illegal innovation. If indeed there was something untoward about the Childress cars, chances are that NASCAR wanted to avoid negative publicity entering the Chase and was uncomfortable penalizing RCR and putting a damper on what was the feel-good comeback story of last year.
But Sunday's scenario just makes you scratch your head and ask: Why would NASCAR be so quick to point out what was wrong with Kenseth's car, but so comparatively closemouthed about Kahne's infraction?
To suggest that anyone in Evernham Motorsports could have done anything to curry favor with NASCAR in this regard would be patently unfair. Less unfair would be the suggestion that NASCAR merely has its favorites, and Jack Roush is not among them. It's no secret that Roush's drivers routinely seem to be the league's whipping boys.
The last thing NASCAR needs is the appearance of being in bed with a team or two, or even three. But fair or unfair, NASCAR brings this kind of eyebrow-raising on itself when it treats one team one way, and another team another.
One of the beautiful things about the sport is how the garage community polices itself. That's how Michael Waltrip got busted for a questionable liquid on his manifold prior to Sunday's pole qualifying. His car and engine were confiscated and it's unclear when he'll get them back.
Old-fashioned schoolyard justice? Maybe. We'll see. Sure, teams may rat out each other to deflect attention from their own "creativity," but they're also keeping the playing field even.
NASCAR needs to treat all of its teams as evenly as possible.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/6468084