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Feb 15, 2007 8:20 am US/Mountain
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Cheating Scandal Rocks NASCAR Before Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ―
The Daytona 500 is supposed to be a NASCAR celebration. A cheating scandal has made it a mockery.
Five teams have been penalized for breaking the rules, including two-time winner Michael Waltrip, who humiliated Toyota by flagrantly violating the code of NASCAR's garage in the Japanese automaker's debut.
Waltrip lost two key crew members Wednesday when NASCAR penalized his team for using a fuel additive in preparations for the Super Bowl of racing. It continued a weeklong crackdown on cheating by a sanctioning body fed up with teams' continued attempts to flout the rule book.
"It's been rough on everybody; we're here to celebrate a race," said NASCAR competition director Robin Pemberton. "Instead, we're busy dealing with all of this."
Waltrip's crew chief and team director were suspended indefinitely after a fuel additive was found during inspection. But Waltrip, docked 100 points, will be allowed to participate in Thursday's races that determine the field for the 500.
David Hyder, his crew chief, was thrown out of the garage and fined $100,000 — the largest monetary fine in NASCAR history. Team director Bobby Kennedy also was kicked out.
Waltrip said he was "so sad and embarrassed," but tried to shift blame to an unidentified individual within his team.
"This is not the action of an organization, a manufacturer or a sponsor," Waltrip said in a statement. "This was an independent act done without consent or authorization from me or any of my executive management team."
The scandal rocked the Toyota group, which now is wondering whether it aligned itself with the right people.
"We will have some further discussions with that team and decide what our relationship is going to be in the future," said Lee White, general manager of Toyota Racing Development, even before NASCAR announced the penalties. "We hold our own people to a very high standard, and certainly we hope that we've partnered with the right people."
Waltrip's penalties came one day after the crew chiefs for 2003 champion Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler all were suspended. All five drivers also were docked points in an unprecedented move by NASCAR, which never before had taken points before the season.
NASCAR officials would not reveal what they found in Waltrip's intake manifold, but a person with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press it was a property contained in jet fuel. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the details.
Pemberton said only that the substance was not jet fuel itself.
"We're not going to go into any great detail, but it was a foreign substance that we feel should not have been inside the engine, and we'll leave it at that," Pemberton said.
The substance was found during Sunday's inspection. Adding the substance, described by NASCAR as an oxygenate, would boost the octane in the fuel, thus making the engine run better at higher horsepower.
Pemberton said the substance was discovered when a NASCAR official reached his hand into the manifold to feel for loose parts.
"When he brought his hand out, there was a substance on there that was unlike anything he had ever seen in the inspection line before," Pemberton said.
Some rival team members said they thought NASCAR should have taken away more points from Waltrip's team, because in a sport where cheating is common, tampering with the fuel is a major no-no.
"Throughout the garage area I think everybody knows you don't mess around with tires, you don't mess around with the engine, the restrictor plates," Pemberton said. "Those things are very taboo."
The last penalty NASCAR issued for a fuel-tampering violation was harsher than Waltrip's. In May 2000, driver Jeremy Mayfield and team owner Michael Kranefuss each was penalized 151 points for a fuel-related violation found at Talladega Superspeedway.
"When it comes to that area, points need to be equal, at least as bad as it was for Jeremy," said Dale Earnhardt Inc. vice president Richie Gilmore.
Waltrip started his own three-car team this season with Toyota. The Camrys have struggled with speed since January testing, and Waltrip is not assured a starting spot in the field for Sunday's season-opening race.
The cars he fields for Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann both passed inspection. Jarrett is assured a spot in Sunday's race because he's a past series champion; Waltrip and Reutimann must race their way in Thursday.
Gilmore wasn't surprised, however, that Waltrip still will be allowed to race.
"This day and age, with the sponsors and money that are in the sport, you can see why they didn't send him home," Gilmore said.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)