October 25, 2008
By Brenda Benedict
Brian Vickers’ 25th birthday was Friday but NASCAR had something for him that was not a happy birthday gift.
Brian Vickers and the #83 Red Bull Racing Team received penalties and fines following Vickers’s 11th place finish at Martinsville this past Sunday.
NASCAR docked driver Brian Vickers 150 points, car owner Dietrich Mateschitz 150 car owner points, suspended crew chief Kevin Hamlin and car chief Craig Smokstad indefinitely and fined Hamlin $100,000 for the violations.
The #83 failed the post-race inspection because the sheet metal used on the exterior of the car was thinner than required. It is well-known that dipping the sheet metal in acid will reduce its width. The reduction can result in a weight drop of 50 – 75 pounds. The weight can then be added back to the car as ballast, which could be placed lower to drop the car’s center of gravity and the left side. This could make the car lighter, faster and more nimble aerodynamically which would be a real advantage at a track such as Martinsville.
Unfortunately, these findings put Vickers’ entire 2008 under suspicion. Vickers has had much success this year. He was ranked 15th before the penalties compared to last year’s 38th place ranking. He has had 3 top five finishes and six top tens.
The improved performance is easily seen in his earnings which are a million higher thus far than all of last year. In 2007 Vickers total earnings were 2.1 million compared to 3.1 million so far this year.
Is Vickers’ success this year a result of this cheating? Has the Red Bull Team been providing him with a car that has an advantage over cars that meet requirements?
NASCAR stated that Vickers was chosen randomly. Typically, the top finishers and one car at random are inspected. Was NASCAR alerted to the improper metal and did NASCAR know something about the #83 that caused them to investigate?
Unfortunately, these questions come to mind when the infraction became public.
The Red Bull Racing Team website acknowledged the fines and penalties and took responsibility for the actions of the #83 team.
“As a team we accept full responsibility for the infractions regarding the No. 83’s Martinsville car and will not appeal NASCAR’s ruling,” said Jay Frye, the team’s general manager and vice president. “This approach to racing is against the values of Red Bull Racing Team, and the necessary steps will be taken to rectify the situation ensuring it does not happen again. It is a privilege to race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and we are taking this penalty seriously.”
Brian Vickers made no comment on his web page or his MySpace page.
This entire situation raises the questions for me about the cheating that goes on in NASCAR. I’ve heard that ‘if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying’. And I know that everyone does it. This year’s list of rules violators contains many prominent teams. And yes, I know NASCAR’s roots are in illegal alcohol transportation.
I still struggle with cheating. NASCAR seems to speak out of both sides of their face. When my mother used this phrase, I never understood it. But now, I realize that this is the perfect illustration.
NASCAR says they are not going to tolerate cheating. They have increased their fines and penalties but more could be done.
NASCAR could make getting caught cheating even more painful. It has been suggested that removing a driver from the next race would be effective but the implications for the sponsors and fans would be severe.
It would be more effective take the offending team’s finishing spot from the race away from them. Then the fans would see their driver in the next race and the sponsor would get their exposure. The overall effect would be to penalize the team in the standings and let NASCAR get more control of what occurs in the garage and on the track.
NASCAR’s removal of the crew chief Hamlin may very well cause harm to Vickers’ chance of doing well the rest of the season. He may not be able to recover and move up from his 17th place finish overall.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
