Gray Areas
Dateline: 10/02/2000Some of Jeff Gordon's supporters have voiced some concerns about the recent fines and points penalty that NASCAR assessed the team for having an "unapproved" intake manifold during his recent win in Richmond.
The NASCAR approved manifold carries a specific serial number. It is generally accepted that any significant change (like changing the material it's made of) to a part will cause the serial number to change. The manifold that NASCAR approved was made of aluminum. Somebody (either Hendrick or GM) manufactured one made of Magnesium and stamped it with the same old serial number. NASCAR discovered the switch during post race inspection and as a result fined the team $25,000, 100 car owner points and an additional 100 driver points.
The rules do not explicitly state that magnesium is not approved. However, during the appeals process everyone (including Hendrick and GM) agreed that the approved part was made of aluminum and that aluminum was clearly implied.
The Short And Sweet
They tried to get away with something and got caught, it happens to everybody. Innovation in the gray areas of the rule book are part of the game but so is getting caught. NASCAR's Director of Competition Gary Nelson was himself a master of the gray areas during his tenure as a Winston Cup crew chief and knows this as well as anyone.
Innovation is a gamble. Crew chiefs just never know how NASCAR is going to react when they find it. Some things might be OK, while others are not however, a little bit of common sense would give a team some real clues about how sever, if any, pnalty they might receive.
I think I see it breaking out this way; aerodynamics, suspension and weight will get you a fine while engine, fuel and other horsepower offenses are likely to cost you points as well as a hefty fine. NASCAR prefers to see teams stay out from under the hood when looking for an advantage and have consistently handed down penalties that reinforce that position.
For most of the NASCAR faithful the important thing here is that NASCAR be consistent across all teams and have a justifiable scale on which penalties are handed out. I believe that the Gordon penalties and fines fit in well with the Jeremy Mayfield situation from earlier this year and other infractions over the last couple of seasons.
