Takeout Anyone??

The NASCAR Appeals Panel met to discuss the RCR / 33 car technical infringement following the New Hampshire Cup race... 

Picture this...

Childress and his team present their case to the NASCAR panel and retire to a different room so the case may be discussed and the outcome decided...

(From NASCAR.com)

"During the lengthy delay, he (Richard Childress) posted a sign on the window of a conference room asking reporters outside to "bring pizza." He later tapped on the window to point out he had updated the sign with "and Budweiser."

How great is that!! In an age when motorsport is far too corporate, far too reserved, far too polite, Richard Childress sits at a NASCAR hearing ordering pizza... and beer!!

The conspiracy theorists will have a field day with the result of the hearing... Did the recovery truck damage the rear of the 33 car while pushing it into Victory Lane? Was the body / frame relationship outside of what NASCAR allows? How can the car be legal at the track and then illegal later? Should Bowyer keep his win? Who was on the grassy knoll, do aliens really exist, and is Elvis really dead?

In simple terms it sounds like the 33 cars bodywork fitted the NASCAR "claw" template after the race, but upon more detailed inspection the body versus frame mounting tolerances had been exceeded. If the truck had damaged the race car that easily, and made it illegal that easily, then surely all race cars that get bump drafted or hit from behind would be illegal when they finish the race?!?

It's not over yet as RCR have said they will appeal the penalties to the next level of NASCAR officialdom.

Mr Childress, this Buds for you!!

The difference between winning and...

One miles worth of gas...
Sixty thousands of an inch...

Not an awful lot...

NASCAR is a game of tight, tight tolerances. From fans tolerance for dull races, to drivers tolerances for each other, to Tech Inspection tolerances... 
 
Ever since NASCAR was formed teams have been pushing the envelope, taking a chance, seeing what they can get away with, and through the years NASCAR's "envelope" has turned into a "postage stamp".

When the "COT" was introduced teams were warned that they mess with the bodies of NASCARs newest race car at their peril. The "COT" was designed to stop teams manipulating the bodywork for aerodynamic gain.
 
Following a race NASCAR can take any car they want back to the R&D Centre for further tests to ensure the cars stay within the postage stamp. The Richard Childress Racing 33 car raced by Clint Bowyer at New Hampshire was found to be 60 very-small-somethings-of-an-inch outside of that postage stamp.

NASCAR had warned RCR the previous week that their cars were close to the acceptable tolerances and in NASCARs eyes the team did nothing about it. NASCAR picked up the rule book and promptly threw it at the 33's driver, crew chief, car chief, and the car owner, issuing fines, docking points, and suspending the aforementioned chiefs.

RCRs argument, the body could have moved when a driver made contact with the 33 car after the flag, or when the car was pushed into Victory Lane, having run out of gas. RCR have already said they will appeal the penalties that have dropped Bowyer from second to twelfth in points, and scuppered his chance at the Championship. If this is the case, what caused the car to be on the edge of tolerance the week before?

NASCAR have no tolerance for teams outside of the tolerances, and unlike the FIA, NASCAR know their own rules, and understand that to produce tolerable races, the teams must be kept within tolerances!

If you can't tolerate it, race somewhere else!

Fill 'er Up... Please...

Oh for one more miles worth of gas...

The first race of the 2010 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup from New Hampshire was a good'un.

I like the New Hampshire oval with its fast straights and flat "short track esq" turns. I also like that the race was "only" 300 miles long! The relatively short race distance ensured the drivers were on it right from the green flag, with 2 and 3 wide racing all through the race!

It is strange to think that such a short race was determined by gas mileage, but thats the way it went. Ultimately the 14 car, Tony Stewart, came up one lap short, handing the win to Clint Bowyer, and relegated him to a 24th place finish, last car on the lead lap. I might be biased but is there a sadder sight than that of the 33 car celebrating while the 14 crawls across the line??

What New Hampshire did do was shake up the points standings! With only 12 drivers in the Chase, a jump of ten places in the standings is huge and this is exactly what Bowyer achieved with the win. An eight place jump for Hamlin is also a good return for a hard weekends work!

The big losers?? Smoke obviously dropping to 11th, and, shock, the 48 of Jimmie Johnson who with a twenty fifth place finish drops two places to seventh!

So will Richard Childress Racing be able to maintain the momentum in what is their comeback season? Will Hamlin have the consistency to hold on to the top spot? Will the 48 be able to mount a comeback? Will the 88 be able to put two good results together in the same year??

Roll on Dover...

Time to Chase the Cup

After two good races at Atlanta and Richmond, the 12 drivers are now set, and NASCAR has reworked the points order ready for the Chase!

 

Hamlin, Johnson, Harvick, the Busch brothers, Stewart, Biffle, Gordon, Edwards, Burton, Kenseth and Bowyer.

 

The amazing thing about the points system for the chase is that Denny Hamlin jumps 9 places and Jimmie Johnson moves up 5 for the start of the Chase. The points leader before the cut off was Harvick, who drops to third.

Still to come are New Hampshire, Dover, Kansas, Fontana, Charlotte, Martinsville, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix, and finally Homestead.  

Good news for the Chase... Smoke is doing well, as is the Ford of Carl Edwards, which gives all the manufacturers a presence in the top 12! Hamlin has momentum, and you can never count out his team mate! On paper this could be the closest Chase so far!

Will the 48 win five? Who will give him a run for his money? Can Harvick reclaim his points lead? Can one of the others mount a big enough challenge to cause an upset? Will Jeff Gordon end his winless streak?? Can the 2 car keep the solitary Dodge upfront? Will Joe Gibbs order Busch to finish second to Hamlin (sorry that's F1)?

I would love Stewart to win it, but ultimately I am in the, "Anybody but Johnson" camp! Nothing against the 48, I would just like somebody else to win it this time!

Ferrari vs FIA! The Farce in Detail!!

The FIA need to pay Ferraris lawyers to act for them in the future as they played the World Motor Sport Council to perfection!!

The FIA's explanation has so many contradictions, and Ferraris arguments have the FIA running for cover!!

The FIA's "Factual Charges" (A.i) and "Legal Charges" (B.i) state Ferrari gave a team order. In legal terms there is no evidence of such an order, just an exchange of information, so the FIA are off to a bad start already.

"Legal Charges" (B.ii) states that Ferrari breached the "fraudulent conduct or act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or motor sport generally". 

Ferraris response included the following...

"In the view of Ferrari, there is a clear distinction between 'team orders' on the one hand, and 'team strategy and tactics' on the other hand. The disputed communication should be considered as 'team strategy and tactics."

I live on earth, what planet does this come from??

The killer blow from Ferrari comes in the form of...

"In the view of Ferrari, if the true nature of the breach alleged is that of "team orders", Ferrari submits that either that offence is established or it is not. If it is not, it would be improper to try to make good some deficiency in the Regulations (if such there be) by relying on some generally worded provisions which are clearly intended to apply to different situations." 

So if you can't prove the "team order" allegation, and as your regulation is badly written, you can't,  it would not be a good idea to try to hang us using your "catch all" regulation.

Ferrari then lists previous instances of "team orders", and the action taken by the FIA in each circumstance, or not taken in-fact! Question, why is it relevant what has happened in the past? If the FIA want to promote "racing" then start from now, stop looking backwards, draw the line here and now! Just because the FIA have had no back bone over the last few years doesn't mean they can't grow one now!!

The FIA ruled that Ferrari did breach the "team order" regulation. The FIA also ruled that Ferrari breached the "fraudulent conduct or act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or motor sport generally" regulation. The FIA also state...

"It is the role and responsibility of the FIA as the world governing body for motor sport to promote sports ethics and fair play... Sports ethics involves the elimination of cheating and bending the rules. In addition to the existing written rules, there can therefore be said to be a moral obligation on drivers to abide by the rules, in accordance with the principles of fair play."

Sounds good so far...

The decision... Team orders were issued! The drivers swapping places was "prejudicial to the interest of motor sport and contrary to article" blah blah blah...

They then state...

"It is important for the FIA to act to protect the sporting integrity of the FIA Formula One World Championship, and to ensure the podium finish has been achieved by genuine on track racing."

The penalty... NOTHING more than the already imposed fine!

They also state that the drivers should not be penalised!

The get out of jail free card used was the "ambiguities" of the regulation, and "it would not be appropriate to increase the overall penalty" due to this... but the rule is not ambiguous enough to prevent the FIA  from finding them guilty of breaching it!!

So in short, the "Team Order" rule is badly written and we will review it, but you have breached it, we uphold fair play but write us a small cheque and you'll be ok, drivers are responsible for their actions but shouldn't be penalised, we want the podium to reflect real on-track racing but do nothing to ensure this, oh and the best bit...

Ferrari, Williams, and Sauber "pointed out the risk of collision of team mates". If, F1 teams, you are worried about your drivers taking each other out... GET BETTER DRIVERS!!

Cricket match anyone?? Oh can't, you need balls for that!!

FIA SHOCK... INGLY PREDICTABLE...

Back in July, the German Grand Prix and Ferrari in particular, were the subject in a blog of mine entitled "Team Orders, or In Germany We Have Ways of Making You Win" http://jameswright42.blogspot.com/2010/07/team-orders-or-in-germany-we-have-ways.html.

It has now been decided that the $100,000 fine for "what happened" in the German Grand Prix is enough of a penalty after the FIA's World Motor Sport Council sat on Wednesday to review the "happenings".

This should not come as a huge surprise to anybody who knows anything about the FIA and F1 of recent years and I say this for three reasons...

1 - Ferrari International Assistance

The FIA has a recent history of letting Ferrari get away with anything they have done, while penalising other teams for everything they do, so on this basis the FIA were never going to penalise Ferrari any more than they had to. You could say that having Jean Todt in the FIA seat of power wasn't going to help this situation, or you might have hoped that the ex-Ferrari puppet master had taken all the secrets to the governing body, poacher turned game keeper, and would bring in a change of attitude. In this instance Todt was not directly involved but must have had an influence, and due to his role in the sport how are we to believe anything else?

2 - Regulations that are un-enforceable!

Regulation 39.1 bans team orders...

With this regulation in the rule book no team is ever going to get on the radio to their driver and say...

"Your team mate, our number 1 driver, who has more points than you, is behind you. Please slow down, let him overtake you and protect his position for the remainder of the race, as we want him to win the race not you."

You may hear...

"(driver name) is running half a second a lap faster than you" OR "you are currently 3 tenths of a second slower than the car behind you" OR "the leader is lapping at a 1 minute something something, you are doing 1 minute something else." This is a reasonable set of information for a driver to be told at various times over the course of a race.

However for a team to say, "your team mate is faster than you blah blah blah..." to their driver is obviously a very specific phrase used for a very specific reason. To follow it with "Sorry", along with the driver and crews demeanour after the race says it all!

Now if you heard this and thought the message meant anything other than "you are not quick enough , sorry I have given you a useless car" you are obviously incorrect, or so Ferrari would have you believe.

What the Motor Sport Council have done is uphold the fine, therefore agreeing (you would think) that the regulations were breached, but imposed no additional penalties, bar making Ferrari pay the costs of the judicial procedure, which surely they would not be made to pay were they innocent. So if you break this regulation a fine is enough of a penalty, no points loss required, no exclusions, not even a probationary period.

With the championship as close as it is, $100,000 is a small price for teams to pay if they manipulate the results of a race to put there top driver ahead for the sake of points. Put it another way, if the same thing happened at the last race of the year and influenced the Championship results, the team would have to write a cheque for the small (to an F1 team) amount of $100,000. The driver would keep the position, keep the points and the rewards associated. Sounds good to me, cheat and keep the spoils for your efforts but pay out a small cheque for the honour!!

OR If the council has decided that there was not enough evidence to convict Ferrari of breaching this regulation, why maintain the fine if you can not prove they did anything wrong! I think have an answer for that...

3 - No BALLS!!

The question is, do the FIA want to allow team orders in F1? 

If we assume for one minute that the FIA wants to promote "racing" in F1, as they keep saying and have backed up by the team orders regulations' existence in the first place, then the answer must be NO!

If this is the case why then do they send mixed messages with the "fine but can't prove they did anything wrong" routine. Want to stop team orders? Exclude the two drivers and the team from the meeting, and put them all on probation for the remainder of the season! Message sent, you cheat you get thrown out!!

If the regulation is not enforceable then introduce a regulation in the style of NASCARs, "Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing". This allows you to penalise any team or driver if you consider their action to have a  negative effect on the sport. Oh hang on, ever heard of "Bringing the Sport into Disrepute"? If a team rigs the outcome of a race, you could exclude them under this regulation, or fine them by the way. However this style of thinking does not fit in well with a sport run by lawyers as there may not be sufficient "evidence" to convict the driver or team even if the entire world knows exactly what happened. That and you would need the "balls" to do it in the first place!!

Reviewing the Regulation

However, if F1 think team orders are a part of the sport, why is the regulation in the rule book in the first place? The problem is, the regulation is in the book and for this season that's the law... or apparently not!!

The Motor Sport Council have requested the rule makers review the regulation for next year. You will never be able to prove in a court of motor sport law that team orders exist as no team will ever use the words. In a sport run by lawyers, the regulation was doomed from the start. However the Council have upheld the fine! If they are happy that Ferrari breached the regulation, and are therefore satisfied with the evidence, why review the regulation? If Ferrari used team orders and they have been found guilty, the rule works doesn't it? 

Feeble Incident Assessors???

Farcical...

Lastly, a quote from Autosport.com -

"When asked to respond to suggestions that, despite Ferrari's denials, many people believed the outfit had used team orders, Todt said: "I tend to agree as well."

Oh good, thanks for that!! I await the full explanation with breathe that is baited.. honest...

I Love NASCAR Road Racing... part 3...

The Canadian Grand Prix is usually one of the more entertaining GP's as the track always seems to create drama, and good "racing", so it should come as no surprise that a NASCAR race at the same track was full of drama too!

An off week for the Cup Series put the Nationwide Series in the limelight with the road racing specialists having their moment of fame. Names like, Marcos Ambrose, and Robby Gordon, both ex-road course racers and now Cup regulars were joined by other road course ringers with names like Max Papis, Boris Said, and even a Mr Jacques Villeneuve, racing at the Montreal track named after his father.

Not all of the road course "ringers" fared well, with Robby Gordon running out of fuel late on and Ambrose having car problems far too early on, but Said, Papis and Villeneuve were the top three at the flag... and what a run to the flag it was!!

Papis overtakes Said into the last corner on the last lap, runs a bit wide, Said hits the second kerb hard, holds the car tight, gets a run on Papis, and beats him to the line... by 0.012 seconds! Great move!! (http://www.thehotlap.com/2010/08/29/video-what-a-finish/)

I am already looking forward to next years race, as it should be more of the same, but with good looking cars!

 

Other GP circuits that would make for a good NASCAR road race venue?? How about Spa, great piece of tarmac crying out for some decent cars to race on it, would be fun in the rain too!!

For the third time this year, I love NASCAR road racing!!