THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502200229
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Long : 139 lines
Week in and week out, it is a frequent topic of conversation in the Winston Cup garages. The gossip is kept in-house, rarely reported on or talked about outside the NASCAR family.
But the fact is that many drivers, owners and mechanics believe that NASCAR is not on the up-and-up. They are convinced that officials play favorites, manipulating the outcome of races by secretly giving certain competitors advantages.
They say one car with certain mechanical characteristics can sail through inspection while an identical car is not approved. They suspect that yellow flags are thrown at suspicious times, and that certain cars are cited for speeding on pit road while others aren't.
It has been a particularly hot topic in the garages this week at Daytona, because of the rash of fines and penalties levied by NASCAR for cheating. Some of the sport's top stars believe that NASCAR, once again, is favoring certain drivers, teams or sponsors, surreptitiously granting concessions that help those cars run better.
Can it be? Is the sport that has experienced unparalleled growth in the past 15 years not being played on a level track?
NASCAR's top officials categorically deny that any races are secretly tilted in favor of individual competitors, or that mechanical advantages or inspection favors are doled out under the table.
``We've got to maintain our credibility or the whole ship sinks,'' NASCAR president Bill France said Friday. ``Your editors wouldn't assign you to cover this sport and CBS wouldn't put it on the air if is was a sham. There's too much riding on this.''
There may never be a definitive answer to the question, but in an effort determine how widespread the skepticism is, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star conducted an anonymous survey of 30 top members of the NASCAR family - drivers, crew chiefs, owners and others. Because all of those surveyed work closely with NASCAR on a regular basis, anonymity was granted.
The survey consisted of just two questions:
Do you believe that NASCAR secretly singles out teams for favors and tries to tilt the odds in their favor?
Has your team ever been secretly singled out by NASCAR to receive exclusive favors or concessions?
In response to the first question, 14 people said they believe NASCAR secretly tries to tilt or influence races. The other 16 said they did not believe that NASCAR plays favorites.
On the second question, 28 people said their team has never received special favors, but two people said their teams have been helped secretly by NASCAR.
It is no secret that NASCAR makes adjustments with the makes of cars to keep the competition close - to keep ``a level playing field,'' as officials often say. Last year, for instance, the Pontiacs were allowed to lengthen their bodies to improve their aerodynamics when it became apparent that they couldn't run with the Fords and Chevrolets.
Further, it is common knowledge that nearly every Winston Cup team tries to get away with anything it can. But this is a long-established tradition in stock-car racing, and most fans regard it as good old American ingenuity rising above the constraints of authority.
But NASCAR also is responsible for policing the sport, for making everybody play by the rules. It is expected to catch the cheaters and punish them.
This year, the early part of Speedweeks was marked by a rash of fines against a variety of cheaters. Car owner Bill Davis was caught with one of the most spectacular cheating devices ever found - a driver-operated hydraulic pump to lower the rear deck lid for better aerodynamics. And Junior Johnson was given the largest fine in NASCAR history - $45,000 - after inspectors found an ingenious device in the engine's manifold to increase horsepower.
But some folks in the garage would have you believe the real story was not who got caught, but who didn't. One driver surveyed said if every car in the garage was legal, none would go faster than 188 mph. In this year's Daytona qualifying, 34 cars exceeded 188.
Reports of special treatment for select teams surfaced again last week. Stories circulated that certain devices were taken from favored cars, but no fines were levied and nothing was said.
``It's known as `the call,' '' one source said. ``We joke about it. We say, `Did you get the call this week?'
``Has it ever happened to me? No. Have I seen it happen? Yes. I've seen them let a car through (inspection) that was 400 pounds light. I've seen them let a car through with the wrong numbers on the tires. It's the call.''
In the minds of the conspiracy theorists, if ever a race was fixed, it was last season's inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, won by Jeff Gordon.
Some believe that the 23-year-old Gordon is NASCAR's designated heir apparent to Dale Earnhardt, and thus gets special favors.
The allegations are that Gordon's Chevy had more speed on the long Indy straights than the Fords - which had not happened at any other track all year - and that Gordon's car was visibly lower than the others, which would give it an aerodynamic advantage.
``I normally don't comment on something that outrageous,'' said Ray Evernham, Gordon's crew chief. ``I know we were legal, and Jeff drove his butt off. Something like that comes from someone who had no chance of winning anyway.''
France said there was no manipulation from NASCAR to favor Gordon, adding, ``We didn't get any criticism to my knowledge from any other competitors concerning the inspection on Jeff Gordon's car. If he got away with something, he got away with something without our knowledge.''
People who don't believe that the sport is manipulated point to a number of compelling arguments.
For instance, the No. 23 Smokin' Joe's Ford - backed by NASCAR's biggest sponsor, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. - was slow all week and failed to qualify for today's Daytona 500, the biggest race of the year. It also did poorly last year.
``If it really was fixed, don't you think NASCAR would be helping the R.J. Reynolds car?'' said one of those surveyed.
Further, if NASCAR was willing to manipulate the sport for the sake of sponsors, why would they have embarrassed Davis and Johnson, both of whom have new sponsors (MBNA and Lowe's), with huge fines at their first races?
France made another point that was echoed by several of those surveyed.
``If a team came to me and wanted something,'' he said, ``and I decided to give it to them, I've got to go to Gary (Winston Cup director Gary Nelson). That's another person in the loop. And then he's got to go to the inspectors. That's three or four more people in the loop.''
When that many people know about it, the secret is bound to get out, France said.
``There's too much at stake to do that,'' he said. ``We've worked hard to get the sport up to where it is now. And there isn't any way we're knowingly going to let that happen.''
But down in the garages - whether fueled by sour grapes, paranoia or reality - the skepticism lives on. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN CORBITT/Staff
Graphic
THE SURVEY
Drivers, crew chiefs and owners were asked:
1. Do you believe that NASCAR secretly singles out teams for
favors and tries to tilt the odds in their favor? 14 of the 30
respondents said yes.
2. Has your team ever been secretly singled out by NASCAR to
receive exclusive favors or concessions? Two of the 30 respondents
said they had been helped secretly by NASCAR.
by CNB