NASCAR will come down hard on COT infractions
Quote selected text Published June 25th, 2007 in NASCAR News
NASCAR is determined to take any guesswork out of its new Car of Tomorrow. With a new system of templates and sensors to measure the parameters of the taller, wider and reputedly safer car, NASCAR chairman Brian France said the sanctioning organization wants to leave no doubt that it will come down hard on infractions.
“We have to lay down the law,” France said Sunday at Infineon Raceway, where the Nextel Cup cars raced in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. That doesn’t bode well for the teams of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who were parked for Friday’s practice and qualifying after NASCAR inspectors found front fenders on their COT Chevrolets had been illegally modified. The two Hendrick Motorsports drivers were allowed to practice Saturday and race Sunday, starting from the rear of the field, but it is expected that NASCAR will follow up in the next few days with more severe penalties, possibly including the loss of drivers and owner points, six-figure fines and suspensions for the crew chiefs.
Asked if NASCAR is taking all the creativity away from the teams, France said, “There will always be room for imagination and ingenuity in the sport. But we don’t want this thing to revolve around technology. It’s important to keep it in the hands of the drivers.”
Bookmark to:
- Four Busch Series teams penalized for Montreal infractions
- National Stock Car Commission upholds Haas CNC penalties
- NASCAR hands down penalties in Busch Series
- Gordon’s team penalized for Daytona infraction
- Daytona penalties on the #9 and #17 upheld by commission
HANG THEM BY THERE NADS!!!
bout time brian made any sense.
I second that.
It’s funny how NASCAR is bs when they are giving someone else a fine,
suspension, docked points, etc. for an infraction worse than this,
but as soon as a Hendrick team gets “caught cheating” you think that
the gauntlet should drop? Now that’s what makes no sense. People
need to stop hating on a team just because they’re better!
Thank you Erica!These fans are so predictable.If Hendricks is at
fault they are ready to hang them.But when their driver does wrong
they defend him.Yes I am a Hendricks fan and I know what they did
was wrong.But give them the same penalty as everyone else.Don’t
make it more severe because of who they are.Face the facts Hendricks
is the best team this year.They just made this one mistake.
For Alesia and Erica,,,what do you expect,,,they defend their drivers just like your defending yours now,,,oh so predictable,,,
I wonder who told Brian France he needed to say that? I seriously doubt that he
came up with it on his own.
If Brian has to try to fill his daddy’s shoes, he has to make those daddy size decisions. Can he do it?
I am not defending Jimmy or Jeff.I admit that they did wrong and that
they should be punished.What I am saying is there penalty shouldn’t
be more severe then any other driver who has broken the rules.Take
away points money and suspend their crew chiefs.That is the normal
penalties for drivers who break the rules.They shouldn’t be punished
more severely just because it was the COT car.
For Fleet…I don’t talk crap about the other drivers. That’s where
I differ! And I am not defending them. Steve LeTarte…don’t care
because I am not a Jeff Gordon fan. As for Chad Knause…he pushes
the gray line to make his car the best. Sometimes he goes too far.
So be it, punish him, punish Jimmie if you have to. That’s racing
and that’s NASCAR. I have enough faith in my driver to know that he
can make up any penalty thrown his way. He’s done it before and
he’ll do it again. I’m sorry that others have to whine about this
stuff when they don’t honestly believe their driver and their team
can overcome what they deserve (just as much as anyone else does).
Alesia wasn’t talking crap about other drivers either. I guess
that’s what Hendrick fans do best, defend their team without talking
trash about everyone else. Maybe we’re above that? Go ahead…throw
a beer at me…no wait, I’ll take a Pepsi!
Well said Erica:)
Thanks Alesia. :0)
OMG Alesia and Erica you guys are two of the people that look at hendrick as a god arent you? and Alesia NASCAR should penalize someone 10 times harder if they cheat with the car of tomorrow to make teams like Hendick realize that they cant cheat in todays NASCAR. Every driver should be penalized if they cheat and if its in the car of tomorrow i belive the penalty should get harsher and harsher till teams realize there is no “grey area” on the COT.
Brian France is a moron.
The perps are toast come Tuesday.
Everyone will learn a lesson from the message that is sent loudly and clearly.
The bigger the hard, the harder they will fall……
Uh Key,
Did you mean …the bigger they are, the harder they will fall ?
If so, I think you are probably right.
ITS ABOUT TIME THAT THEY ARENT GOING TO JUST SLAP THESE BIG TEAMS ON THE WRIST WHEN THEY TRY TO BLATANTLY CHEAT.
Well James for your information I don’t put anyone on a pedestal.Hendricks is not a God.They are normal people like you and me and they make mistakes.The COT is going to be the regular car next year so penalties so
the penalties shouldn’t be changed now.
Erica
Jun 25th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Alesia wasn’t talking crap about other drivers either. I guess
that’s what Hendrick fans do best, defend their team without talking
trash about everyone else. Maybe we’re above that? Go ahead…throw
a beer at me…no wait, I’ll take a Pepsi!
As a jr fan . No i did not throw the beer. I dont think old Jeffy can share the spot light. I am interested to see what happens in 08 . Fine the hell out of em. They will still be up there .Penalties : nascar is based on cheating remember started by running shine from the law in souped up cars. Later became who could out smart who and the drivers ablility. If officials get to carried away it will be like a I roc race . My opinion Boring! Besides pushing the evelop makes creativity, which invents horsepower in ways never thought of . Every single team looks for an edge. Maybe we should have different tire selection making everyone guess.
Yes. The penalties do need to be changed now. Better now than later ‘cuz if they do it later then that wouldn’t be fair to anyone. Whatever Nascar does I hope they crucify the 24 & 48 teams. Nothing personal, just to squelch the rumor that HMS & NASCAR share the same bed (which it does kind of look like for some reason). Like Erica said, her driver can make up for the penalty. So, give it to them.
…what a crock, Brian!
…sure, there’s as much “imagination and ingenuity” in NASCAR today as there is in IROC racing.
…oh, gee! I forgot, IROC is dead. Isn’t it?!
eveyone defends thier driver in a way. for crying out loud EVerYone cheats, harvick, stweart, jr, gordon, johnson, you and me and so on. nobody gets special treatment no matter what when it comes to penalties. if this was the case nascar would be having a storyline each week like pro wrestling
Anonymous
Jun 25th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Brian France is a moron.
for once i agree with you
“…we don’t want this thing to revolve around technology. It’s important to keep it in the hands of the drivers.”
Brian France actually made a worthwhile statement for once.
Everyone who was bitching about Junior’s fine was doing so because it seemed unfair, but if every team is treated the same way I think the only ones who will be complaining are the Hendrick lovers.
For those of you making the parallel between NASCAR and IROC. They are not the same, yes the cars must have the same body from car to car but IROC would set the cars up to run exactly the same, and then no adjustments are made at all! Teams set up cross weight, wedge, track bars, and build engines. It is more about the driver then the car. I don’t care to much for the COT but at the same time we must deal with it or start a new sanctioning body, that being the case if a team is caught cheating, throw the book at them (that has been what NASCAR did in the past, the only difference is now they are looking harder). I have an idea if a car fails inspection officials can make necessary adjustments using simple tools ie hammer, pry bar, bat, grinder, until the car is “legal” maybe not aerodynamically sound.
Just because I’m a Jimmie Johnson fan does not mean that I think Hendrick
is a “God” or that I will “complain” about what penalty Jimmie or Chad may get.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…That’s part of racing! Jr fans were
bitching because they think no one can touch him! Well, NASCAR can touch him, they
can touch anyone, including the Hendrick team. It’s NASCAR…get over it! We
are not going to change the way they do business, including penalties. If that
were the case, I would’ve bitched about the penalty that Kurt Busch didn’t get
when he put a crew member in danger on pit road! To all you haters. NASCAR didn’t
“hang” Jr, KuBusch, or anyone else who has cheated this year, there’s no reason to
start doing it now in the middle of the season, just because they are Hendrick. Do
you really think that Chad and Steve were trying to “get away” with something rolling
into prerace inspection with a blatantly obvious change?! I mean, really…
Erica-”Do
you really think that Chad and Steve were trying to “get away” with something rolling
into prerace inspection with a blatantly obvious change?! I mean, really…”
Yes. I do & I bet the 5 & 25 teams were wondering why they were left in the dark. No info sharing. Too bad. Then all of Hendrick would be shot down.
All jokes aside, I have nothing against HMS (just NASCAR). I would just like to see them get penalized in a fair way. That being as close to what Jr. & Ku. Busch received. Maybe a lil more but no less.
Sorry Dreggsta, they aren’t that stupid! And for anyone to think they
deserve more is just hating (whether you think you are or not). Do I
think they deserve less? No, not necessarily, but they do not deserve
more by any means.
well i only see a 50 point deduction, as they lost the other 50 by starting tail end. The money is questionable, there’s been rumours anywhere from 50 to 250K.
100 points, loss of crew chiefs, $100,000 fine. Same as the 8 car on a COT infraction.
Actually, they should come down harder on the 48 team, IMHO. Isn’t this like the 6th
or 7th time he has been caught cheating?