Penalties handed down. I can see Penske appealing the severity of the punishment. As for MWR and Truex, they'll probably feel that they got away reasonably okay with that.
NASCAR 2013 Sprint Cup season (other series discussion welcome!)
- Thread starter JRS
- Start date
Ron Hornaday penalised for the incident under caution with Darrell Wallace in the CWTS race:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130417/NASCAR03/130419849
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130417/NASCAR03/130419849
Such a shame the truck series isn't shown on TV here
http://www.viplivesports.eu/motorsp...reilly-auto-parts-250-live-stream-online.html
http://www.viplivesports.eu/motorsp...reilly-auto-parts-250-live-stream-online.html
11th caution. At this rate Jennifer Jo Cobb will get a top 10
He ran in a nice piece of strategy, helped by the caution at lap 218 but you make your own luck in this sport sometimes.
One person who was **** outta luck though was Kyle Busch. He really does not like this track!
One person who was **** outta luck though was Kyle Busch. He really does not like this track!
Hoo boy....
So, Kenseth's car was running an illegal part. TRD apparently built an engine with a connecting rod that didn't make the weight specified in the rulebook. He's docked 50 points, and also loses the three bonus points he'd get if he makes the Chase (closest thing to DQ'ing him from the Kansas race entirely). His pole position at Kansas also won't count towards making him eligible for the 2014 Sprint Unlimited. His crew chief has been fined $200k and suspended for six races. Joe Gibbs (the car owner) loses 50 owners points, is suspended from getting any owners points for the next six races (hell of a blow), and Toyota have been docked five manufacturers points.
They'll appeal, I guess. And it's very unfortunate because their engines are provided by TRD (Toyota Racing Development) rather than being made in-house. But, rules are rules and NASCAR has form for heavily punishing anyone who bends them in the engine department. Just ask Carl Long....
So, Kenseth's car was running an illegal part. TRD apparently built an engine with a connecting rod that didn't make the weight specified in the rulebook. He's docked 50 points, and also loses the three bonus points he'd get if he makes the Chase (closest thing to DQ'ing him from the Kansas race entirely). His pole position at Kansas also won't count towards making him eligible for the 2014 Sprint Unlimited. His crew chief has been fined $200k and suspended for six races. Joe Gibbs (the car owner) loses 50 owners points, is suspended from getting any owners points for the next six races (hell of a blow), and Toyota have been docked five manufacturers points.
They'll appeal, I guess. And it's very unfortunate because their engines are provided by TRD (Toyota Racing Development) rather than being made in-house. But, rules are rules and NASCAR has form for heavily punishing anyone who bends them in the engine department. Just ask Carl Long....
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That's pretty much what I said when I read it. Then I laughed, because it was Toyota. Then I stopped laughing, because it was still very harsh.
TRD made a reasonable point - running with one con rod underweight is hardly an advantage, because you're introducing odd forces to the crank and potentially impacting on engine life (especially with these latest Cup engines turning the thick end of 10,000rpm at the top end). Running all eight con rods light would be more like cheating.
Utterly irrelevant, because they broke the rules, but very reasonable.
Utterly irrelevant, because they broke the rules, but very reasonable.
Hang on, so its only one rod in the engine that's under weight, not the full set?
That sounds suspiciously like they have done that on purpose because it gives them some sort of advantage. Why else would they knowingly put odd forces on the crank, especially as they themselves said it puts extra stress on the engine.
I smell a rat. They did it on purpose for some reason.
That sounds suspiciously like they have done that on purpose because it gives them some sort of advantage. Why else would they knowingly put odd forces on the crank, especially as they themselves said it puts extra stress on the engine.
I smell a rat. They did it on purpose for some reason.
So they "accidentally" built one conrod to a different specification than the other 7?
Are we talking about fractions of a gram that could be caused by minor manufacturing differences, or is the difference enough that it has clearly been designed that way?
Edit: just read the details, 3 grams in a 525g part is on the limit of manufacturing error. I doubt engine makers allow a 0.5% tolerance for parts like this. Its either a serious manufacturing error or they planned it. TRD will be checking all parts more thoroughly from now on
Are we talking about fractions of a gram that could be caused by minor manufacturing differences, or is the difference enough that it has clearly been designed that way?
Edit: just read the details, 3 grams in a 525g part is on the limit of manufacturing error. I doubt engine makers allow a 0.5% tolerance for parts like this. Its either a serious manufacturing error or they planned it. TRD will be checking all parts more thoroughly from now on
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Nascar said it was 3 grams underweight.
It was a ****-up, plain and simple. And while on the one hand you should never attribute malice to something when stupidity is an adequate explanation, it was still a breach of the engine construction rules and deserved punishment.
Think on - that part could have caused the engine to blow, endangering other competitors (not exactly fun getting showered with oil, coolant, bits of engine block and big end bearing!), bringing out the pace car and radically changing the complexion of the race. So yes, it was possibly detrimental to the performance of the car. But it could have made a big difference to the outcome of the race in other ways. The NASCAR rulebook is the way it is for sound reasons (I may not agree with everything NASCAR has done over the years, but the technical ruleset is the textbook example of how to run a semi-spec series), and they've shown in the past that they'll beat you to a fine pulp for infringing where the engine is concerned.
Think on - that part could have caused the engine to blow, endangering other competitors (not exactly fun getting showered with oil, coolant, bits of engine block and big end bearing!), bringing out the pace car and radically changing the complexion of the race. So yes, it was possibly detrimental to the performance of the car. But it could have made a big difference to the outcome of the race in other ways. The NASCAR rulebook is the way it is for sound reasons (I may not agree with everything NASCAR has done over the years, but the technical ruleset is the textbook example of how to run a semi-spec series), and they've shown in the past that they'll beat you to a fine pulp for infringing where the engine is concerned.