From the StockCarFans Newsletter thru a source: “NASCAR was asked about the reportedly illegal rear deck lid on the car it took to the wind tunnel. They had not originally intended to take the 2 car, Rusty’s. They were planning to take the 99, butthen it wrecked on the final lap. So they had to scramble to pick another Ford and they didn’t get to it in time to wave Rusty off from going to the gas pumps. They ran over there, told the crew to stop what it was doing right then. They had already pulled one of the clips holding the rear deck down because they were getting ready to fill it with gas so it could be weighed. When they fill the car from the pumps, they have to raise the deck lid to do it. So one pin was off and then they started pushing it to pit road. One crew chief (Evernham, the NASCAR guy said) saw the pin off and started wondering if there might be some illegal device at work. For a spring gizmo to work to raise or lower the lid, supposedly, the pin or pins would have to be out. That may be utter crap, but that’s what NASCAR told me when I asked about it.”(StockCarFans)(3-24-98)
