Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 11, 1995 TAG: 9506120083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: SPORTS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: Medium
In many instances, we played it fast and loose with the facts - myself included. In the end, it turned out we were wrong.
There were mistakes from the very start.
On May 30, the ``NASCAR Today'' radio show broke the story, but erroneously reported Evernham had been fined $50,000 and suspended for one race for using an unapproved suspension part - an altered wheel hub - in the Coca-Cola 600.
The penalty actually was a $60,000 fine and probation.
In this space, on May 31, I reported: ``One possible explanation, for both an altered spindle and the reluctance of NASCAR to talk about what they've found is that they may now have partial evidence, but no smoking gun, of the often-rumored use of telemetry devices and electronic traction control.''
Yes, that was a possible explanation, but it was not the correct one. And it was a wheel hub, not a spindle.
The Atlanta Constitution reported Evernham had admitted the hub was not approved, ``but insisted it was not an exotic or modified part as NASCAR charged.''
NASCAR never said the part was exotic or modified, only that it was not approved.
The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer quoted anonymous sources as saying the unapproved wheel was made of titanium, which is not allowed by NASCAR.
``You could tell that it was titanium from the color of the sparks coming from the car as Jeff drove back around the track after the wheel fell off,'' one source told the Observer.
It sounded great, but it was wrong. The wheel hub was made of steel, not exotic metal, and that particular part never even dragged on the track.
On the same day, an Observer columnist excoriated Evernham and the entire sport, writing: `` ... no price can be put on the damage that was done to Gordon and to stock car racing.''
Can you blame Evernham if he wondered whether any price could be put on the damage done to motorsports journalism by the misreporting of the incident? But he didn't speak out because he saw it as a lost cause.
``The press has an awful lot of power, more power than any of the guys here in the garage can reach,'' he said Saturday at Pocono International Raceway.
In truth, Evernham's cheating did little or no damage to the sport, and the reporting mistakes did little or no damage to motorsports journalism.
What Evernham was caught with was far less significant than many of the elaborate cheating devices uncovered by NASCAR. It became a big deal because of the size of the fine, the prominence of the team and driver, the fact that NASCAR waited two days before announcing it and the fact that NASCAR would not immediately disclose some of the details it usually releases in such cases.
And nothing underscores that point more forcefully than the fact that Gordon and his team were caught cheating again this weekend.
On Friday, NASCAR inspectors confiscated the foam-rubber baffles from the gas tank of Gordon's car because they had been modified, which is against NASCAR rules. There was no fine and no announcement, so it was no big deal.
In their zeal to build the fastest cars, crew chiefs always are testing NASCAR's limits. Sometimes they cross the line.
Yes, it's cheating, but it's not a capital offense. And it's not ``illegal,'' in the strict sense of the word, because it's a violation of NASCAR rules, not a violation of law.
``We look at it like speeding; we don't look at it like murder,'' Kyle Petty said. ``Yeah, we cheat, but we don't kill. We just fudge you 5 or 6 mph.''
By the same token, motorsports writers sometimes engage in speculation, quote unnamed sources and generally push the limits - especially with mysteries and unanswered questions - in our efforts to bring our readers the best and most complete coverage.
NASCAR's $60,000 fine forced Evernham to admit his misdeed.
We journalists are not governed by NASCAR rules. But our sense of fairness should obligate us to admit it when we step over the line, too.
by CNB