Poll of the day: Matt Kenseth's hair piece looks: A) Real B) Not real C) Real but ridiculous D) Not real and totally ridiculous What's your opinion, inquiring minds want to know. -kt
Montoya was fast in Mexico, granted, since he's a road course guy. But damn, he stuck his nose inside everyone on the end of that long straight, and the only way to skip getting piled up like he did with his teammate was to let him have it. Rough driving? Pretty close to it...
Cup Series Jimmie Johnson wins at Las Vegas. - Spydertrader <img src=http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1392411>
I wondered that myself - considering on the replay of the first incident, it appeared as if the NASCAR Official grabbed the tire (just as on the second). One incident received a penalty and the other did not. If I find anything, I'll post it here. - Spydertrader
Jeff Burton crosses the finish line to place first at the NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300 as Kyle Busch spins out behind him on Saturday, March 10, 2007 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch spins across the finish line to place second at the NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 10, 2007. Photos by Samantha Clemens. Jeff Burton celebrates with his team in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Busch Series Sam's Town 300 at the Las Vegas Motor Speeday in Las Vegas Saturday, March 10, 2007. Photo by John Locher.
Richard Petty poses with Richard Petty (the real one) during the unveiling of Madame Tussauds wax statues at the grand opening of the Neon Garage at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway of Friday, March 9, 2007. Photo by Samantha Clemens.
A Nascar fan waves to the racers during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series UAW- DaimlerChrysler 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 11, 2007. Photo by Ronda Churchill Bud Pole Award Winner Kasey Kahne, lower left, attempts to straighten out while on fire after hitting the wall during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series UAW- DaimlerChrysler 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 11, 2007. Photo by Sara Tramiel Jimmie Johnson leads Jeff Gordon during the final laps of the NASCAR UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, March 11, 2007. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky Jimmie Johnson crosses the finish line to win the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 in Las Vegas Sunday, March 11, 2007 - for the third straight year. Photo by John Locher Jimmie Johnson celebrates his victory following the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, March 11, 2007, in Las Vegas. Photo by Isaac Brekken
explainer How Do You Cheat at NASCAR? Auto racing's dirty tricks By Christopher Beam Posted Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2007, at 6:33 PM ET With the Daytona 500 less than a week away, four crew chiefs were suspended yesterday after inspectors discovered modifications to their cars that violated NASCAR rules. The cars apparently had holes drilled in the wheel wells and in the back to make them more aerodynamic. How else can you cheat in auto racing? Let us count the ways. Car technicians and crew chiefs are constantly devising new tricks to make their cars go faster. But occasionally their methods will be a little too innovative. In most auto-racing leagues, cars undergo inspections before and after every race and qualifier. Every sanctioning body, be it NASCAR, Indy Racing League, or the Sports Car Club of America, has its own set of rules about size, shape, and weight. In NASCAR, for example, the distance between the centers of your tires has to be exactly 110 inches, and fuel tanks are normally limited in size to 22 gallons. In general, cheaters use three methods to make their cars go faster: They improve its aerodynamics, increase the amount of oxygen that gets to the carburetor, or boost its fuel capacity. (Most of the cheats outlined below are now well-known to racing inspectors and are therefore used less and less.) There are a number of ways to make the air flow around a car smoother. (Putting holes in the wheel wells, for example.) Normally, NASCAR drivers are required to keep the front windows down, so they can get out in case of an accident. That means a lot of air gets trapped inside, creating drag. In the past, some drivers would cheat by rolling up the windows during a race, only to roll them back down each time they drove past the officials. Another option is to tinker with the size and shape of a stock car's spoilerâa sloped fin in the back that manipulates air flow to push the car down onto the track. (This improves both traction and handling.) Crew chiefs are often penalized for making spoilers too high, which increases the downforce. But some engineers have supposedly evaded inspectors by designing spoilers with a special material that changes shape at high speeds and reverts when the car slows down. To increase fuel capacity, some cheaters have used long tubes to connect the fuel tank to the engine. So instead of, say, 5 feet of tubing, they'll coil up 20 feetâwhich may add a couple extra gallons of fuel capacity. And more fuel capacity means you don't have to stop to refuel as often. Increasing oxygen flow to the engine is trickier. You can tinker with the NASCAR-mandated restrictor plates, which limit the amount of air that gets in for safety reasons. (Without the plates, cars can reach dangerous top speeds of more than 200 miles per hour.) You can also juice up your fuel: Some racers used to add oxidizing chemicals, which at high temperatures would release oxygen into the engine and improve performance. These days, inspectors keep a close eye on fuel, making this method uncommon among professionals. Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer. The Explainer thanks Jerre Hill of the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and Peter Hylton of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Christopher Beam is a Slate editorial assistant. Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2159854/