Posted on 07/07/2003 11:07:39 AM PDT by Wolfstar
Well, it's about that time of the year for me to write one of those articles that gets me in trouble. I don't try to do this, but sometimes it just happens. If you have read my stuff before you know that I write what I see and I hold nothing back.
Dale Earnhardt Jr's dominance in the Busch series continued this weekend. He led wire to wire and took the win at Daytona.
Anytime Dale Jr wins, the conspiracy theorists come out in full form and make up the craziest stories as to how NASCAR let Dale get away with it and how they favor him. I am always one to say that the rules are the rules and NASCAR can not fix the outcome of a race.
I still believe that.
However, I saw something on Friday that shocked me. Not only did Jr's crew do something so blatantly obvious during inspection, but the NASCAR officials let it go, and to top it off they laughed and joked about it.
[SNIP]
This weekend I was at Daytona with garage/pit credentials courtesy of NASCAR. After this, it'll probably be the last time.
Inspection finally opened up prior to the race and the cars were sent thru a maze in the garage area consisting of about 5 or 6 different areas that the teams pushed the cars thru. One checked body templates, one checked under the cars, one checked the weight, etc. I found it odd that they would move the cars to several different locations to accomplish this, but a NASCAR official escorted each car from station to station to ensure that no one did anything illegal.
When Dale Jr's car was going thru the station that checks the roof height and the valance heights and others, I walked over to that station and snapped off a couple pictures...
[SNIP]
Jr's team pushed the car up on the scales.
The NASCAR officials were having the teams disconnect and reconnect the sway bar at the scales. So, the 8 team, as others, lifted the hood and went to work on the sway bar. Then it happened.
One of Jr's crew members walked over to the passenger side and while the inspectors were looking at the computer to see the numbers and the other one was watching the guy wrenching on the sway bar, the crew member grabbed the hood in the area where it goes over the right front tire and bent it severely upward away from the fender. I sat there for a second thinking, "Why did he do that?"
Then the officials told them to close the hood and move on to the next station, they had passed this portion of inspection. At this point the same crew member closed the hood and now it didn’t fit with the fender anymore. So what did he do? He grabbed the fender and yanked it up at least an inch and a half to meet the newly shaped hood. As he yanked it up, the rest of the fender, above the tire twisted and contorted to this new shape. He closed the hood and it still wasn’t right, so he opened it and adjusted the fender some more until he got it where he wanted it. Then he closed the hood.
This was a major modification to the shape of the fender at a place where the templates are checked very closely.
To make it worse, there were 3 NASCAR inspectors watching this. One Winston Cup inspector and 2 Busch series officials.
They looked at each other and one said to Jr's guys, "That was a major adjustment there guys, I think you need to go back thru the templates."
I thought, "Ok, they are going to do the right thing."
Then they all laughed. The crew guy said, "OH, they never check that anyways." And they laughed some more. The main inspector looked at the obviously tweaked fender and shook his head and said, "I knew we couldn't trust you guys." And they all laughed again.
They pushed the car over to the next station and that was the end of it.
How could these officials let this team make such a blatant adjustment to a critical part of the car and not make them go back thru the templates?
[SNIP]
Now, I am sure all the Jr fans will write in and tell me that I am jealous of Jr or that I need to get a life. But I want you to seriously consider what happened. The rules specifically state that no adjustments can be made to the body of the car after it goes thru the templates or else you must go thru the templates again. A major reshaping of this fender was done and the officials just laughed it off.
I watched several other teams get sent back thru the templates and other stations for far less minor infractions.
Jr fan or not, a rule is rule and it must be enforced evenly. I place the blame here on the NASCAR officials and not on Jr's team. They did what they had to do and they got away with it. The officials did not do their job properly. I personally would like to see an investigation into this and find out why it was allowed. I have the names of all 3 NASCAR officials if anybody wants them. And, I actually had one person say that post race inspection would have found the infraction if there was one. They do not template the car in post race inspection. The cars bump each other during the race.
[SNIP]
If you look at the...photos you can see...the area where the fender was adjusted.
[END EXERPT]
(Excerpt) Read more at insidethepitbox.com ...
Ahhh, so there is an agenda underneath the venom.
Unlike Kyle Petty, who Father was more popular than Earnhardt, Jr. has actually been competitive.
So, I guess drivers like Sterling Marlin, Brett and Todd Bodine, Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Coy Gibbs, John Andretti, Larry Foyt, Kyle and Adam Petty etc. who have all been given an easier route to a cup ride because they all have a father or brother that preceded them are not deserving?
Your claim is ridiculous and uncovers your agenda plus your lack of cup racing knowledge.
Do you have anything to refute what I said in post 100? Deafening silence so far.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
And Wolfstar, name calling isn't making your case of "I only posted it for the safety aspect it raised" any more believable than Bill Clinton when he re-defined what "is" is. Calling me a fool doesn't make the guy any more credible.
And it's Ms. DJ88 to you.
I think he's going to laugh his head off.
"You know what? I'm on a name-to-name basis with the guy who covers sports for our local paper. He's not one to shy away from taking a good, hard smack at NASCAR, regardless of the consequences. I'm going to call him and have him take a look at this article, and see what he says. I think he's going to laugh his head off."
If this "cheating" had actually occured, the cries from the other 43 teams to the "legit" media would be deafening.
I just talked to the guy who covers the auto racing...and has for the last 40 years, and he said this guy is nothing more than a moron because if it had actually happened, Jr.'s team would have had to pay off those 3 officials ahead of time, all the teams behind Jr. waiting for inspections; the officials who stand at each pit during the race and the officials who conduct the post-race inspections. He also said that they are picked randomly, so no one would have known who to pay off ahead of time.
He also brought up a good point about the safety issue Wolfstar's been screaming about in this "episode": if the guy had any integrity at all, he would have started screaming holy hell when he saw it happening.
So, there ya go. He said that there is no doubt cheating does occur in NASCAR, but not right in front of the officials.
He summed it up pretty well: this story has more holes in it then a pound of Swiss cheese. ;-)
As for the "agenda" you think you spotted, think again. The operative phrase is "in contrast," the contrast in that particular case being to an article that discussed the charitable works of other drivers.
As for venom, when you mention Adam Petty in the vein and tone you did, it speaks volumes about the kind of person you are. He was a 19-year-old kid when he died. He never had a chance to live his life. People like you, who presumably are trying to defend the name Earnhardt, do nothing but disgrace it.
You said what you said and you said he's an empty individual, speaks stupidly, and thinks of no one but himself. If that's the way you "respect" someone, you're so full of crap it's coming out of your ears.
On the other hand, the personal lives of Junior, Jeff Gordon, and any of the other drivers are none of my business, except to the extent that they may choose to make certain things public.
If it's none of your business, why are you spreading false malicious gossip on the internet about him?
Actually, it was stupid of me to add that paragraph to my post the other day about the charities, because it took away from the point I was trying to make. It's just that I get sick of people who have a double standard when it comes to the late Dale Earnhardt, and now his son, versus any of the other drivers. People who direct the most vicious, venomous bile toward Jeff Gordon, for example, while at the same time DEMANDING that no one ever say a negative word about either Earnhardt.
Bull!!! The people saying the worst things about Gordon on that thread were not Earnhardt fans, they were fans of other drivers. Can you read?
Yes, it was you. Your conspiracy was that Nascar lets Dale Jr run with bigger holes in the restrictor plates. Did I mention that you're full of crap? Yeah, I think I did.
No. If you were capable of taking off your biased pro-#3 blinders for a minute, perhaps you'd get the point. Short of that, it's impossible to dialogue with you on this.
It's impossible for you to discuss this because you know you're being overdramatic and it's clear that you just don't like Dale Jr and you're unhappy that I proved what you said about him. Your motivation isn't Dale Jr's safety, it's to spread false malicious gossip about him.
If spotting a topical article and posting it for discussion, and if expressing the concerns the article raised for me, are "out there," then I have to plead guilty.
You're out there for posting an article whose author can't even keep his points straight and didn't bother to take a picture of the fender after it was supposedly raised abover the hood an inch and a half. This isn't a topical article, it's the worst of tinfoil. LOL
That's what I thought.
"As for venom, when you mention Adam Petty in the vein and tone you did, it speaks volumes about the kind of person you are. He was a 19-year-old kid when he died. He never had a chance to live his life. People like you, who presumably are trying to defend the name Earnhardt, do nothing but disgrace it."
I said nothing about Adam in a specific singular example, but rather amongst a group of drivers who have had a head start in racing due to their lineage, in response to your "Junior was born with a silver spoon in his mouth" comment. You're projecting.
People like you that resort to personal attacks because they have nothing of substance to respond with on this forum do nothing but disgrace it.
Silly statement? You think liberals love the internal combustion engine? You think they love the pre-race prayers and patriotism? You think they love southern drivers like Marlin and Dale Sr? You think they like that there are no black drivers? Liberals don't like Nascar.
By the way, not to argue for the writer, who can do that for himself if you email him, but: You'll notice in one of the photos he points out the crewman who he says did the deed. You'll also notice he points out an inspector who he says discussed it with the crewman. Lastly, if you look carefully at the area of the fender/hood he says was modified, it does look more angular than the left side.
You are a wacko. I could go out on the street and take pictures of people and then say anything I want about them. I'll say again that if you believe a crewman moved a fender an inch and a half you don't know Nascar.
Now, if any of this is not true, the author has put himself in line for one whale of a lawsuit for libel.
No he hasn't. A reporter can say about anything he wants. If we could sue for libel, the New York Times would be out of business.
Both the crewman and the offical are not public citizens (a designation which makes libel suits extremely difficult to pursue successfully). So what you, as an obviously dedicated Earnhardt fan might want to consider doing, rather than wasting your time trading posts with me, is to bring Faiella's article to the attention of DEI. You would be doing them a favor — if the article is a lie.
This is what the author wants. He's trying to make a name for himself so he posts lies fully knowing that gullible angry people like you will worship him for it.
This guy has been posting these kinds of posts about Dale Jr since February. Safety my ass. LOL
Tell you what wolfstar, We'll ping every NASCAR freeper and see if they find my post #126 offensive or derogatory in any way to Adam, I'll apologize and ask it to be pulled. That's what kind of person I am.
--------------------------------------------------------
Posted by viligantcitizen to Wolfstar; #3Fan On News/Activism 07/08/2003 7:50 AM EDT #126 of 135
"In contrast, Dale Junior, who is probably the most popular driver in NASCAR right now, has done nothing to earn that popularity except be born Dale Earnhardt's son. Talk about behing handed everything in life on a golden platter! "
Ahhh, so there is an agenda underneath the venom.
Unlike Kyle Petty, who Father was more popular than Earnhardt, Jr. has actually been competitive.
So, I guess drivers like Sterling Marlin, Brett and Todd Bodine, Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Coy Gibbs, John Andretti, Larry Foyt, Kyle and Adam Petty etc. who have all been given an easier route to a cup ride because they all have a father or brother that preceded them are not deserving?
-----------------------------------------------------------
I beg the question, NASCAR freepers, was that an offensive comment about Adam Petty?
Some fine-tuning in tech inspection is probably the norm. This idiot author is probably pointing out an adjustment that happens all the time and like I said is just trying to make a name for himself by blowing it out of proportion.
Of course it wasn't. Wolfstar is being shown as the angry person that he is so he's flailing about against us hurling anything he can think of.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.