NASCAR clips Toyotas Wings again

Just as NASCAR did with the Nationwide Series in July, the sanctioning body has changed the engine rule in the Craftsman Truck Series.

NASCAR announced the rule change Wednesday. Engines with cylinder bore spacing of less than 4.47 inches must use a spacer with four 1.125-inch diameter holes, which restricts engine air flow. All other engines must use a spacer with four 1.1-inch diameter holes. The change likely will impact the horsepower of the Toyotas – on the Nationwide side it impacted the Toyotas by 15-20 horsepower.

“As was the case with the amendment we recently made in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, all teams that upgrade to new engine packages will be subject to this rule modification," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition. “This is a continuance of the ongoing engine evaluation we’ve had in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series over the course of this season and is a step we’ve taken to help further maintain a level playing field among our competitors."

NASCAR impounded several engines for testing after the Aug. 20 race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The change is effective immediately as the teams head to Gateway International Raceway this weekend.

[Editor's Note: This will have Lee White and his Toyota engineers fuming again. They will now probably roll out some more horsepower they were holding in their back pocket for the truck engine and destroy Chevy, Ford and Dodge, just to teach NASCAR to leave well enough alone. We don't think NASCAR realized what they were doing when they let Toyota into their den to play. They come to win, and annihilate the competition.]