(Dale Earnhardt) Jr's Busch Crew Cheated, NASCAR Looked Away, I Saw It All

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.

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.

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...

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."

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.

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?

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.

If you look at the...photos you can see...the area where the fender was adjusted.

Please see my post #193 to "vigilantcitizen." Perhaps it will help you understand. Let me add something else: In every walk of life, some people are dependable and some aren't. Now suppose any part of what that author says he saw is true. (Don't jump off a cliff of misunderstanding; I'm only asking you to suppose. Not saying I believe the author.) Would you really want NASCAR officials to behave that way? Don't you want to insist on integrity in NASCAR officials, and wouldn't you want to see any potential bad apples let go? NASCAR owes that to you as a loyal fan.

And if this author wrote nothing but a pack of lies, do you really think it helps Junior, or NASCAR, or DEI, or Dale Sr's memory to let it go; to not shine a light on it, but to just let it fester out there on the Web?

I'm a comparatively new fan to the sport, having begun following it toward the end of '96 or early '97. Almost from the first race I saw, and the first shop I went into to buy NASCAR paraphernelia, I heard ugly talk about cheating. Whether or not there's a shred of truth to any of the talk, it's damaging. I want to enjoy the sport, and I want to believe in its integrity. But if NASCAR officials do what that author claims, then it becomes impossible. All the insults in the world hurled at me, a nobody, isn't going to change that truth.

The knee-jerk, almost desperate attempt by a few people to defend Junior has obscured the point of posting the article.

Desperate? I don't think so. The only one showing desperation is you with that ridiculous sidestep into that Adam Petty stuff and your crazy accusations of bigger restrictors and what-not.

Look. I found this article disturbing for a number of reasons...

One of which you have no ability to discern truth. If you would've been paying attention to the article you would have seen he contradicted himself and if you knew anything about Nascar, you'd know that a crew member can't move a fender an inch and a half above the hood.

...— either way, whether what he says is true or whether it's not. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with Junior, other than it happened to be his Busch car. Rather, the article calls NASCAR's integrity into question.

No, it highlights your integrity as well as that of the author.

Did those inspectors really behave that way? That, for me, is the nub of the matter; the question I want answered. If raising the article up from relatively obscure racing-related sites to a news site eventually helps answer that question, then all the heated trash will have been worth it.

First we have to find out what the story is he wants to tell. First he said that the inspectors didn't see it, then he said the inpectors laughed when it happened. Are you so blind as to not see this? A person who repeats the lies of others is a liar himself.

Please see my post #193 to "vigilantcitizen." Perhaps it will help you understand.

Oh I understand perfectly. You've made your position known all year with the things you've accused of bigger restrictors and of not having any accomplishments. As I've said, you are to Dale Jr what Willie Green is to the economy.

Let me add something else: In every walk of life, some people are dependable and some aren't. Now suppose any part of what that author says he saw is true. (Don't jump off a cliff of misunderstanding; I'm only asking you to suppose. Not saying I believe the author.) Would you really want NASCAR officials to behave that way? Don't you want to insist on integrity in NASCAR officials, and wouldn't you want to see any potential bad apples let go? NASCAR owes that to you as a loyal fan.

It didn't happen so it doesn't matter. If you knew anything about Nascar you'd know that a crew member cannot raise the fender an inch and a half above the hood.

You are repeating lies so what you have done here is allow thousands of others see the lies bumped to the top 200 times on this site. You are a spreader of lies. Most people do not know this issue well enough to know that it couldn't have happened and so they will just assume your made-up headline is true.

I'm a comparatively new fan to the sport,...

Wow, I never would've guessed. /sarcasm

...having begun following it toward the end of '96 or early '97. Almost from the first race I saw, and the first shop I went into to buy NASCAR paraphernelia, I heard ugly talk about cheating. Whether or not there's a shred of truth to any of the talk, it's damaging. I want to enjoy the sport, and I want to believe in its integrity.

No you don't. You want to believe these stories to the point that you shout these lies from the rooftops. You are so full of crap it's unbelievable.

But if NASCAR officials do what that author claims, then it becomes impossible. All the insults in the world hurled at me, a nobody, isn't going to change that truth.

They didn't but thanks to you, thousands more believe they did. All it takes is a headline. The media knows it well.

Ok, racing fans. Here's an update and this should put this story to bed.

First..I got a call from NASCAR's Director of Communications shortly after my last post to Wolfstar. This person was very nice but made it clear that they aren't happy campers about this so-called "reporter". [His words, not mine]. He wanted to make sure he had the correct website address, the correct spelling of the author's name and if I had any connection whatsoever with this Rob Faillo and/or his website. I made it perfectly clear that I did NOT! He said that while the press has the right to report whatever they want (this was mentioned earlier by someone else on this thread), when someone starts making accusations like Rob Faillo did about NASCAR officials overlooking any kind of cheating by a team ---and it didn't matter what team it was, then they take it very seriously. He also said that they had called DEI to inquire about this story and were satisfied with the information given to them by DEI. He said that the car had been confiscated after the race and if there was any tampering done, they would have taken away the win and he would have been fined...regardless of who did it. The fact that nothing was found makes it obvious to him that no tampering had been done with the car and that people do things with their fenders and hoods all the time. Then he told me that he had put a call into Rob Faiella. oops. Sorry bout your luck, Rob. You predicted your own future, as you will no longer be allowed to be in the pits. Ha. Ha. Ha.

2. About 15 minutes ago, I got a call from DEI's website editor, whose name I choose to keep anonymous at this time, although you can probably look it up on the website....and if any of you who don't believe me, his initials are TP. This guy was so cool and very funny and shed some interesting light on this Rob Faiella person. He told me that he has had problems in the past with this guy, including physical threats, which he reported to Rob's boss. He then went on to say that this guy, after threatening him, was stupid enough to send in his resume to the person I spoke with---looking for a job. Obviously, he didn't get one. [ROFLMAO] I talked to him about the picture of the crew member who was the one he said "cheated" and TP interrupted me and said, "He couldn't even identify the right person that did it." I said, "You mean it really happened?" He said, "Yes, it really happened, but what he did was not "tampering". After we made the adjustments, the hood wouldn't fit right, and he so he pulled the bumper up, but it in no way, shape or form altered the car nor did it deviate from NASCAR's rules. It was exactly the same as it was after as it was before the inspection. If the crew had done what this moron said we did, it would have effected the downforce of the car and it would not have handled as well as it did. Let's go a little bit further here and remember that the person who wins any NASCAR race---Cup Teams, Busch Teams, Truck teams--has their car confiscated by the officials after the race who then pore over that car for hours. If something illegal had been done, we would have been fined. If Buckshot Jones had done it, he would have been fined, too....and he can't afford it. It goes for all the drivers. How many times have you seen one team get fined for doing something and another team doesn't get fined for doing the same thing? It happens all the time. The Earnhardt's have been in racing for a long, long time and they--especially Dale Earnhardt---have been fined a number of times for messing around with the cars, but this is not one of those times. There would just be too many people around for a crew member to "fix" a car to handle better, not to mention the fact that Jr. would have been seriously ticked off if that was the case, because he's very well aware that people are scrutinizing him every time he races. His car is inspected 3x as much as any other team, just because he's "JR". Plus, he had won the pole anyway so why would there be a need to "fiddle faddle" with the car when it was a good car to begin with? The guy's an idiot, and he's ticked off at DEI because we wouldn't give him a job...which is kinda stretching it when you expect to get a job after threatening the very person you want to work for in the first place." I asked him about Rob's claim that the officials were all "joking and laughing" afterwards and he said, "Sheesh....these guys are funnier than hell..until they find something illegal. They aren't laughing then." He mentioned that at the Monday morning meeting yesterday with the team, everyone was all upset and wanted to slam this guy (into a wall maybe?) but this man said, "It's exactly what he wants, guys. The more we rebutt it, the more power we give him. Just ignore it."

So, then after that, we talked for a little while and I found out that he's from the same town I live in now!!!!! He went to college here...ROFLMAO....talk about a small world. Oh yeah....about the "NASCAR Credentials" this guy was boasting about? He said every single person in the pits gets their credentials from NASCAR. Even I have to get my credentials from them!" We started talking about racing and other stuff and then he asked me if I go to a lot of races. I said the next one would be Bristol. So guess what? He asked me for my address and said, "Great! You live in my hometown, you love racing and you aren't afraid to ask questions. I'm sending you 2 pit/garage passes from DEI for the Bristol race. I'll notify NASCAR that you are to be picked up from the credential trailer and brought directly to our garage area and you can hang out with us in the hauler, get to meet Jr. and have some fun with us. Are you married?" I said, "Yes, I am. So I'm out of the running." He said, "I wouldn't say that... Jr. likes people who aren't afraid to speak up. His Dad was like that, ya know. He doesn't like bimbos....so let me know if something ever happens to your marriage." Hahaha and then he went on.."I'll take you up to the suite, and you can watch the race from there. How's that sound? In the meantime, I'll get Jr. to sign a couple of things for you and tell him the whole story. I can't believe you called, but I'm glad you did. I hate it when people believe everything they read. That's boring."

I nearly fainted.

That was fun!!!! :-)

"Thank you. I appreciate your apology and effort to lower the temperature."

You're welcome.

"The knee-jerk, almost desperate attempt by a few people to defend Junior has obscured the point of posting the article. Look. I found this article disturbing for a number of reasons — either way, whether what he says is true or whether it's not. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with Junior, other than it happened to be his Busch car. Rather, the article calls NASCAR's integrity into question. Did those inspectors really behave that way? That, for me, is the nub of the matter; the question I want answered. If raising the article up from relatively obscure racing-related sites to a news site eventually helps answer that question, then all the heated trash will have been worth it."

I thought my original post 100 was a very concise,point by point, non-knee jerk response to what the author had to say.

But to help make things clearer...

Let's take a quick glance at NASCAR history...

In the mid-60's, Richard Petty dominated cup racing in a plymouth outfitted with a 426 hemi engine. And I mean dominated. NASCAR bans the engine. Petty quits cup racing for drag racing.(Until Petty wiped out a Dallas dragstrip killing an 8 year old boy. That track is 12 miles from my house and my father was at that meet.)

In the mid-80's, Bill Elliot dominated cup racing,especially Daytona and Talledega. Matter of fact, I believe he still holds the record qualifying speed at both tracks. In the area of 215 mph. NASCAR responds by bringing out the restrictor plates, using safety as an excuse.

NASCAR does not want one dominant driver and has proven that by the way they run their series for 30+ years. They have realized that the more cars that are competitive, the more merchandising and tickets they sell.

NASCAR wants Junior fans, but they also want Gordon fans, DJ fans, Labonte fans, Wallace fans,Burton fans etc. and the shirts, hats, stickers and tickets they buy.

When I first started watching racing, I was a rare breed, someone other than a Petty fan. I liked David Pearson. Now it's different. That's a good thing. And for the record, I hated Earnhardt when he first appeared in 1980, only to come around later.

Second, I will not deny that teams cheat. They cheat like hell, they compete at it. But to the teams, it's not cheating each other, it's getting things by the officials.

This goes on inside the confines of a shop. The very idea that this happened at the inspection area, in front of the general public, not to mention the officials, is ridiculous.

Teams have moles that watch inspection of other teams cars. Believe me, as I stated in an earlier post, if this had went on like the author had stated, every crew chief in the garage would've been beating Mike Helton's door down demanding he be shot. Making this claim insults the intelligence of every other team other than DEI.

And I'll also say this, if by some slim margin this author is right, I hope they fire the officials and I'll come back and admit I was wrong. How's that?

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