“It’s NASCAR’s responsibility to protect the
confidence of the competitors that they are playing on a level playing
field,’’ Helton said.
What about taking away wins Mike? “That’s not necessarily a sacred cow,’’ Helton
said . “We’ve held out removing finishing positions for very distinct
incidents. Those occur when someone has very clearly ... worked on
either a piece or a situation that is obvious they were intending to
disrupt the parity of the field.
“I’m talking about an obvious big motor. I’m
talking about having on board a device that is very clearly against the
regulations — telemetry, devices that can raise and lower the car
during an event. ” For the record these quotes are from March 2005 not this week. - The Virginian-Pilot After reading this and its companion article it's clear not much has changed, just adjusted for inflation.
Is a hundred points and $100K a stiff punishment ? Maybe not if you look closer. Using Vegas stats.
Win - lead most laps $425k 195 points
2nd - lead 1 lap $252K 175 points
23rd - no laps led $108K 93 points
42nd - no laps led $88K 37 points
Last - lead 1 lap $129K 39 points
It may take quite a bit of Tweaking to get a top 20 car to victory lane but the cash payout to win is big. Look at the payout for 42nd and 43rd. That is why keeping a win is so valuable. Tony Stewart finished last while Robby Gordon was one place ahead. The #20 team is on the Winners Circle Program. Those lucky teams divide somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.5 million in additional purse money a season. Nearly $400K per team. Sounds good, sign me up. Not so fast. That club is for the top ten in race wins from the previous year with two wild card spots open to the current seasons first two winners not already in. (top 10 ties decided by owner points)
That's a little extra incentive to win that is often overlooked by a lot of fans. The #99 was already in the program for 2008 and Ryan got in by winning Daytona so there is one spot open. Do you take the chance on getting caught and losing $100K if you are going to net $400-500K in the long term. What if you fudge and don't get caught, even better. Or maybe a junk car can get massaged to a top ten finish and nobody even bats an eye at your car.
Time Machine I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I remember a story that I believe is true. Years ago Nascar was certain a crew chief had an oversize gas tank but couldn't figure it out. After one such display of suspect fuel economy and some measuring and yelling in the pits it was decided the tank would be taken for further inspection. The irate crew chief climbed in the car and drove off, sans gas tank or one would think gas, much to the dismay of Nascar officials.
HH, it was Smokey Yunick (sp?) that had the gas tank. After that NASCAR mandated the size of the fuel cell. Smokey out did them by adding extra gas line and his cell could hold an extra gallon of fuel. The guy was a genius. I like what you've written here. I agree with your points.
