More from Jayski.com:

Toyota's GM says #99 knew what it was doing with lid UPDATE: Lee White, GM for Toyota Racing Development, said Carl Edwards' team knowingly caused a lid to come loose on an oil tank in his Ford because it increased the car's speed during Sunday's victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Edwards was penalized 100 points by NASCAR for the missing cover. Roush Fenway Racing has denied the infraction was intentional, saying a bolt broke because of a vibration. The team said it wasn't certain it achieved a gain in performance. White said the manufacturer's testing at wind tunnels in Germany revealed removing the cover on the oil tank (located in a steel box behind the driver's seat) resulted in 170 extra pounds of downforce, the aerodynamic measurement of keeping a car glued to the track. White also said video of a pit stop showed a member of Edwards' pit crew pulling on a right rear fender to open a 3-inch gap to an inner panel. Toyota testing showed that would create about 70 pounds of downforce, White said. NASCAR said the only issue with the car during inspection was the lid.(more at USA Today)(3-7-2008)


UPDATE: What began as a debate over whether the infraction was intentional -- which is the overwhelming opinion of the Sprint Cup garage -- has turned into personal warfare between Jack Roush and Toyota's Lee White. Roush has badgered White repeatedly since Toyota came into the sport last season, complaining about how the foreign manufacturer stole away crew members by doubling salaries and drove up the overall cost it takes to compete. He even referenced the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. So when NASCAR hammered Edwards with the penalty, which included the loss of 10 bonus points he would get should he makes the championship chase and a six-race suspension for crew chief Bob Osborne, White didn't hesitate to fire back at his former boss. White, the general manager of Toyota Racing Development, told USA Today on Thursday that Roush Fenway Racing knowingly caused the lid to come off to increase the car's speed. Roush fired back with claims that White basically cheated during his days as the manager of his road-racing team and that was the reason he didn't bring him to North Carolina when he moved into NASCAR. He also questioned why White would test a car without the lid or with the side panel pulled out when both are illegal. And then to throw fuel on the fire, Roush said Michael Waltrip's car wasn't the only Toyota at the 2007 Daytona 500 that had "jet fuel" in the engine. NASCAR never has revealed what the foreign substance was. Roush and White actually were once friends. White often tells how in 1986 his wife picked out Roush's first fedora that has become synonymous with the man known as the "Cat in the Hat." NASCAR officials declined to comment on that topic, but got a kick out of the way Roush and White were attacking each other. Maybe the two simply are following the edict of chairman Brian France and showing more of their personalities.(see full story and many quotes at ESPN.com)