#48 and #5 post race tech issues??

openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

#48 and #5 post race tech issues??

openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

From Jayski.com:

UPDATE: For the second time this season, a cloud hovers over a 1-2 finish by Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. The shock absorbers from six cars, including those of Johnson and Busch, were confiscated after Sunday's race at Dover. They were taken for testing to see if they are in compliance with NASCAR rules. Johnson won the event and took the lead in the chase for the Cup championship as Busch finished a close second. Their shocks were taken after their cars had trouble passing post-race inspection. Johnson and Busch had a 1-2 finish tainted at Las Vegas when the rear of Johnson's car was too low and the right-rear of Busch's car was too high during post-race checks. Shocks were also confiscated at Dover from the cars of Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace; and the Roush Racing cars of Mark Martin and Greg Biffle. Of the six, only Busch is not among drivers in the championship chase.(High Point Enterprise)(9-28-2005)

spdracer19 · Pick-um contest administrator

Still don't see anything on NASCAR.com about any of this. Maybe if a convicted felon who bought his way out of serving his time cheats it's ok as long as it affects the outcome of a chase race. They let them get away with this once this year. They #48 & #5 should be fined and stripped of their finish. This crap about the fans need to know before they leave the track who won is rediculous. I guess you can tell how I feel about Hendrick, lol.
Kyle Busch is on probation from Watkins Glenn but can drive into people and wreck them and doesn't even get brought top the trailer. He got caught being to high earlier this season during the same race he & Johnson finished 1 & 2 and Johnson was to Lowe...mmmm? It is getting interesting. Lets see if who has more intregrity NASCAR Nextel Cup or the Speed Bowl.

openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

From Jayski.com:

UPDATE 2: NASCAR apparently was listening to the chatter between several drivers and their crews Sunday at Dover. After hearing several teams talk about the unusual setup of Jimmie Johnson's winning Chevrolet, the sanctioning body confiscated the rear shock absorbers from six teams following the MBNA RacePoints 400. Several teams talked on their radios about the height of Johnson's right-rear quarter panel. Radio announcers from the Motor Racing Network even talked about it during the race. NASCAR confirmed Johnson's car originally flunked post-race inspection for being too high, but it later passed once the shock "settled." The second-place car from Kyle Busch, Johnson's teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, also was too high. If the rear of the car is high, it pushes up the rear spoiler and helps it gain traction in the corners. NASCAR took the rear shocks from Johnson and Busch, as well as those from Ford drivers Mark Martin and Greg Biffle and Dodge drivers Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace. Busch was fined earlier this year because his car was too high at Las Vegas; Johnson was fined at Las Vegas for being too low. Johnson won that race, too, and Busch finished second.(Augusta Chronicle)(9-29-2005)

openwheelracer · Admin/Mod/Eyewitness

From Jayski.com:

More on the Shock issue from Dover, expect NASCAR Rule: Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said he expects NASCAR officials to issue a technical bulletin as early as Friday outlawing the trick shock absorbers used by Hendrick Motorsports teammates #48-Jimmie Johnson and #5-Kyle Busch in their 1-2 finish Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Instead of soaking up bumps, as shocks normally are designed to do, Smith said the Hendrick cars' shocks were designed almost to work in reverse; every time they hit a bump, the shocks jacked up the car's rear end for about 15 seconds. Because cars encounter frequent bumps at Dover, the shocks apparently kept the Hendrick cars' tails elevated about an inch beyond what NASCAR rules allow for most of the race, directing more air to the cars' rear spoilers and creating extra aerodynamic "downforce" that helped the cars stick to the track. Cheating? Not exactly, Smith said. "It was clearly an ingenious engineering exercise, and they ought to be commended for their ingenuity," he said. Johnson's team declined comment through a spokesperson.
This explains why the two Hendrick cars failed an initial technical inspection by NASCAR officials Sunday night but passed the maximum-height requirement after they "settled," as NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston explained this week. Officials confiscated the Hendrick cars' shocks after the race, along with shocks from four other cars [#'s 2,12,6,16].
Smith expects NASCAR to prohibit all teams from using such shocks beginning with the Oct. 9 race at Kansas Speedway. The Hendrick shocks wouldn't help in this weekend's race because downforce isn't a major concern at Talladega and teams typically try to get their cars as low to the ground as possible without violating NASCAR's minimum height requirements. Smith figures that Busch, a rookie, has been testing the system all season. "That didn't show up for a championship (contender) the day before Dover," Smith said. "That required a lot of effort, a lot of testing." Penske Racing president Don Miller, meanwhile, wondered why the Hendrick cars apparently were given a second chance to pass officials' maximum-height measurement. "All I can say is, if it comes in as too high, it should be black and white," Miller said. Said Poston, via e-mail: "When the (No.) 48 went up on the platform, it was initially high, but in a matter of seconds the car settled and it made the required height. Absolutely no one made an adjustment to the car; however, as often is the case, an inspector was under the car but did not touch it. The 48 only made one trip through inspection."(USA Today), see past news about this on my NASCAR news page or on 9/29/2005PAGE 2 of the News.(9-30-2005)