NASCAR weekly cheating report #1

UPDATE #2 NASCAR will wait another day before issuing penalties against Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series teams, who were caught trying to cheat during a post race test last weekend. The teams of Gibbs' No. 18 and No. 20 Toyotas deliberately attempted to mask the true horsepower in their engines after Saturday's race at Michigan International Speedway.

08/18/08 Statement released on behalf of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs after NASCAR's discovery of infractions during post-race Nationwide Series technical inspection at Michigan:

"If this alleged incident proves true, it goes against everything we stand for as an organization.

"We will take full responsibility and accept any penalties NASCAR levies against us. We will also investigate internally how this incident took place and who was involved and make whatever decisions are necessary to ensure that this kind of situation never happens again.

"The expectations we set for everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing begins with me, and I personally apologize to NASCAR, our partners and our fans for the negative light this situation has cast upon all of us."

08/17/08 Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nationwide Series teams will be penalized for attempting to manipulate the throttle so NASCAR would not get a true horsepower reading when putting their cars on the chassis dynamometer following the Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Saturday night.

Both the No. 18 and No. 20 teams face penalties for what was a blatant attempt to interfere with the inspection process, Hunter said.

“What they did was not in effect during the race," Hunter said. “They didn’t have an illegal part or engine during the race. They tried to do something involving a magnet so that we wouldn’t get a true reading on the dyno."

NASCAR put 10 cars on the chassis dyno to test horsepower following the race Saturday. Last month, NASCAR changed the spacer that limits air flow through the carburetor for Toyotas after it determined that the Toyotas had an advantage over the other manufacturers.

Hunter said NASCAR officials caught the JGR teams trying to interfere with the process.

“There will definitely be some penalties coming," Hunter said. Scenedaily.com